<«.v 


PRINCETON,    N.    J. 


Shelf.. 


BX  8935 

.G54  1873  V.2       ^ 

Gillett, 

E.  H.  1823-1875. 

History 

of  the  Presbyterian 

Church 

in  the  United  States 

HISTORY 


PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH 


UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA. 


BY   THE 

Rev.  E.  H.  GILLETT,  D.D.. 

ADTnOR   OF   "THE   LIFE   ANI)  TIMES   OF  JOHN    HUSS,"   "THE   MORAL   SYSTEM,' 
"GOD    IN    HUMAN   THOUGHT,"    ETC.,  ETC. 


REVISED   EDITION. 


VOL.  II. 


PHILADELPHIA: 
PRESBYTERIAN    BOARD  OF  PUBLICATION, 

1334  CHESTNUT  STREET. 


Er<t-<"'d,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  ISGtf,  />v  '.lie 

PRE.-  KYTERIAN    PUBLICATION    COMM\ITEE, 

in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court 

of  the   United  States  for  the  Eastern  District  of  Pennsyh'ania. 


PEIFCETOF  ^^ 
-RECOCT  1880         ^ 
THB©LOGICA 

CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

DELAWARE,     1787-1825. 

Missionary  Appointments — Emigration — Presbytery  of  New  Castle 
— Dr.  Robert  Smith — Pastors  and  Churches — Nathan  Grier — 
Dr.  T.  Read — Dr.  E.  Gilbert — John  E.  Latta — Francis  A.  Latta 
— Samuel  Martin — Presbytery  of  Lewes — Pastors  and  Churches 
— Samuel  McMaster — John  Rankin — Maryland  Churches  and 
Pastors — Feebleness  of  Lewes  Presbytery — New  Castle  Presby- 
tery  Page  1-13 

CHAPTER.  XXV. 

MARYLAND    AND    VIRGINIA,   1800-1820. 

Baltimore  Second  Church — Third  Church — Other  Churches — Pres- 
bytery of  the  District  of  Columbia — Ministers  and  Churches — 
James  Laurie  and  the  Church  in  Washington — Second  Church — 
Daniel  Baker  and  the  Third  Church — Fourth  Church — James 
Muir — Second  Church  of  Alexandria — James  Inglis,  of  Baltimore — 
John  Glendy — State  of  the  Churches — 'William  Nevins — Virginia 
Presbyteries — Hanover  Presbytery,  Churches,  and  Pastors — Lex- 
ington Presbytery — Winchester  Presbytery — Changes  in  the  three 
Presbyteries — New  Congregations — Richmond  Churches — Dr.  Rice 
— Petersburg  Church  —  Leesburg  —  Lynchburg — Norfolk — Frede- 
ricksburg— Union  Theological  Seminary — Dr.  Hoge — Dr.  Rice — 
Benjamin  F.  Stanton  —  Dr.  Baxter — Eminent  Preachers — Re- 
vivals  Page  14-43 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

THE    CAROLINAS    AND    GEORGIA,    1800-1820. 

The  Presbyteries — Orange  Presbytery — Patillo,  Caldwell,  and  others 
— Vacant  Churches — Raleigh  Church — Newbern — Chapel  Hill — 
Oxford — Hillsborough — Fayetteville — Wilmington — Presbytery  of 


iV  CONTENTS. 

Fayetteville — Presidents  of  the  State  University — Dr.  Chapman — 
Dr.  Caldwell — John  Robinson — M.  McNair — M.  McMillan — E.  B. 
Currie — J.  Mclntyre — Concord  Presbytery,  Churches,  and  Pastors 
— Lack  of  Ministers — Dr.  J.  Hall — Other  Ministers — South  Caro- 
lina Presbytery — Ministers  and  Churches — James  Gilliland — Va- 
cant Churches  —  Changes  —  Augusta  —  Way  nesbor  ough  —  Second 
Church  of  Charleston — Congregational  Churches — Second  Pres- 
bytery— Synod  of  Georgia — Congregational  Association  dissolyed 
— Dr.  Flinn — Other  Ministers — Hopewell  Presbytery — Ebenezer — 
Bethany — Waddel,  Cummins,  Goulding,  and  Pharr — Georgia  Pres- 
bytery— Midway — Savannah — St.  Augustine — Eminent  Ministers 
— Missionary  Work  of  the  Synod — Men  sent  out — Their  Expe- 
rience— Lack  of  Candidates — Seasons  of  Revival — Revival  of  1801 
— Meeting  at  Cross-Roads — Remarkable  Scene — Meeting  at  Haw- 
fields — Spread  of  the  Revival — Dr.  McCorklc's  Prejudices  over- 
come— Meeting  near  Bethany — At  Morgantown — Successive  Meet- 
ings— Impressions  made — Variety  of  Experience — Theories  of 
Explanation — Dr.  Hoge's  Testimony — Meetings  in  South  Carolina 
— Commencement  of  the  Revival — Order  observed — Growth  of  the 
Church — Cause  of  Education — Angus  McNeill — Increase  of  Popu- 
lation and  Growth  of  the  Church Page  44-95 

CHAPTER  XXVIL 

NEW  YORK,   1800-1815. 

Presbytery  of  Long  Island — Pastors  and  Churches — Churches  of 
New  York  City — Cedar  Street,  Canal  Street,  Laight  Street,  and 
Elizabeth  Street  Churches — Churches  on  the  Hudson — Columbia 
Presbytery — New  Churches — Presbytery  of  Londonderry — Early 
Presbyterian  Emigrants  to  New  England — Newburyport  Presby- 
tery— Synod  of  Albany — Central  and  Western  New  York — Jede- 
diah  Chapman  and  others — James  Carnahan — James  H.  Hotchkin 
— Seth  Williston  and  David  Higgins — Churches  organized — Middle 
Association — Merged  into  the  Presbyteries  of  Cayuga  and  Onon- 
daga— Report  of  William  Allen  in  1804 — Joseph  Elliott  and  Adverse 
Influences — "Father"  Spencer — Missionaries — Favorable  Reports 
— Missionary  Societies — Men  sent  out — Synodical  Missions — No 
Congregational  State  Association — Terms  of  Union  with  the 
Synod  of  Albany  —  Sanctioned  by  the  Assembly  —  Harmonious 
Co-operation — Clinton  Convention — Presbyterianism  preferred — 
Reasons  for  Union — Revivals  of  1800  and  1801 — Subsequent  Re- 
vivals  Page  95-llQ 


CONTENTS.  V 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. 
OHIO,   1800-1815. 
Early  Survey— Company  formed — Location   on   the  Muskingum — 
Early  Settlers— Mode  of  Travel— Promise  of  the  Settlement— Ma- 
rietta—Unfavorable  Reports  at  the  East— First  Ministers— Thomas 
E.  Hughes — Settlement  of  Cincinnati — Defeat  of  General  St.  Clair 

Provision  for  Worship — Church  built — Growth  of  the  Place — 

Dayton Presbytery   of   Washington — Pastors    and    Churches — 

Chillicothe — Columbus— Neighboring  Churches — Lancaster  Pres- 
ley tery— Pastors  and  Churches— The  Miami  Region  and  Kentucky 

The    Western    Reserve — Difficulty    of   Access — Immigration — 

Proximity  to  Pittsburg  Synod— William  Wick— Thomas  Barr— 
Joseph  Badger— His  Preaching-Tours— Removal  of  his  Family- 
Joins  the  Presbytery— Relations  of  the  Synod  and  the  Connecticut 
Society— David  Bacon— Conferences  with  the  Indians— Connecti- 
cut Missionaries— Ecclesiastical  Convention— Synod  of  Pittsburg 
furnishes  Men  for  the  Connecticut  Society— Their  Training— First 
Ministers— Encouraging  Prospects— Feelings  of  the  People— Re- 
vival in  1803— Presbytery  of  Hartford— Ministers  and  Churches- 
Reports  of  Missionaries— Call  for  Men— Desire  for  Preaching- 
Revivals— War  Alarm— Grand  River  Presbytery— Timothy  Harris 
at  Granville— His  Report— Southern  Border  of  the  State- Synod 
of  Ohio— Lancaster  Presbytery  and  its  Ministers— Washington 
Presbytery  and  its  Ministers— Robert  G.  Wilson— James  Gil- 
liland— Miami  Presbytery  and  its  Ministers— Strength  of  the 
Synod— Cause  of  Education— Marietta  College— Miami  Univer- 
sity  P^g^  117-154 

CHAPTER   XXIX. 

KENTUCKY,   1800-1815. 

Transylvania  Presbytery  divided— West  Lexington  and  Washington 
Presbyteries— Synod— Ministers— Their  Teachings— The  Great 
Revival— James  McGready— Coldness  of  the  Churches— First 
Awakening— Sacramental  Occasion— Deep  Feeling— Meeting  at 
Clay  Lick— Gaspar  River— Manifestations— Origin  of  Camp-Meet- 
ings—Causes of  Excitement— McGready  and  his  Associates,  Ran- 
kin, Hodge,  and  the  McGees— The  Excitement  spreads— Shiloh 
Church— Accidental  Meeting— Meeting  at  Ridge— McGready  at 
Red  Banks— Surprising  Conversions— Different  Meetings— Num- 
ber Present— Description  of  the  Scene— How  to  manage  the  Re- 

1* 


Vi  CONTENTS. 

vival — Strange  Excesses — Fanaticism — Ministers  in  Doubt — The 
Test  applied — Lyle  and  Rice — Controversy — Extremes — Mischiefs 

New-Lights  or  Revival  Men — Doctrinal  Errors — Five  Ministers 

secede — Form  the  Springfield  Presbytery — Their  "Apology" — 
Plan  of  Conciliation  fails — Regulating  Disorders — Houston  secedes 

Doctrinal  Errors  of  the  New-Lights — Divided  among  Themselves 

Reaction — New-Lights  and  Campbellites — Origin  of  the  Cumber- 
land Presbyterians — Laymen  licensed  to  preach — Dissent  of  the 
Minority — Two  Parties — Radical  Divergence — A  New  Presbytery 
— More  Licentiates — Modified  Subscription  to  the  Confession — Ap- 
plication to  the  General  Assembly — Reply — Committee  to  attend 
Cumberland  Presbytery — None  attend — Case  before  Synod — Ex- 
ceptions taken — Synodical  Commission  appointed — Their  Diflacult 
Task — Proceedings — Presbytery  refuse  to  submit — Decisive  Mea- 
sures— Shiloh  Church — Cumberland  Presbytery  resolved  into  a 
Council — Synod  meets  at  Lexington — Complaint  of  the  "Council" 
to  the  General  Assembly — Recommendations  of  the  Assembly — 
Council  will  not  submit — Dr.  Wilson's  Letter — Synod's  Letter — 
New  Attempt  at  Conciliation — Synod  decline  the  Terms — Cumber- 
land Presbytery  formed — Its  Policy — Rapid  Growth — Causes  of 
the  Schism — Review  of  the  Case — Results  of  the  Revival — Growth 
of  the  Synod — Defection  of  Craighead — Dr.  Campbell's  Refutation 
— Second  War  with  England— Effect  in  Kentucky. ..Page  154-200 

CHAPTER   XXX. 

TENNESSEE,    1800-1815. 

Presbytery  of  Abingdon — Independent  Presbytery — Presbytery  of 
Greenville — Ministers — Revival  under  Blackburn's  Labors — Visit 
of  Joseph  Bullen — Cherokee  Mission — President  Coffin — Dr.  An- 
derson— Educates  Young  Men  for  the  Ministry — His  Seminary — As 
a  Preacher  and  Teacher — Dr.  J.  Stephenson — Frierson  Settlement 
— Dr.  Duncan  Brown — Union  Presbytery  and  its  Ministers — West 
Tennessee  Presbytery  and  its  Ministers — Abingdon  Presbytery 
and  its  Ministers — Growth  of  the  Church Page  200-213 

CHAPTER   XXXI. 

THE    GENERAL    ASSEMBLY,    1816-1825. 

Growth  of  the  Church — New  Presbyteries — Causes  of  Rapid  Increase 
— Revivals — Board  of  Missions — United  Foreign  Missionary  So- 
ciety— Spirit  of  Union — Letter  of  the  Assembly — Hopkiasianism 


CONTENTS.  Vll 

in  New  York — Ely's  "Contrast" — Synod  of  Philadelphia — Action 
of  the  Assembly — Protests — Ministerial  Education — Need  of  Min- 
isters— Board  of  Education — Revivals  in  Colleges — Auburn  Semi- 
nary— Domestic  Missions — United  Domestic  Missionary  Society  of 
New  York — Its  Address  to  the  Public — Auxiliaries — Young  Men's 
Missionary  Society — Correspondence  with  other  Churches — Union 
with  the  Associate  Reformed — History  of  that  Body — Union  irregu- 
larly effected — Dissatisfaction — Digest — Psalmody — Colonization 
— Sabbath — Sunday-Schools — Free-Masonry — Revision  of  theCon- 
stitution — Notes  to  the  Catechism — Action  on  Slavery  in  1818 — 
In  1825— New  Synods— The  Western  Field Page  213-242 

CHAPTER  XXXII. 

NEW    YORK,    1816-1830. 

New  Churches — Churches  of  New  York  City — P.  M.  Whelpley — Dr. 
Spring — Dr.  Milledoler — Dr.  McAuley — Dr.  J.  M.  Mason — Other 
Churches  and  Ministers — Dr.  John  B.  Romeyn — Dr.  E.  Baldwin 
and  the  Seventh  Church — Other  Churches — Matthias  Bruen — Dr. 
E.  Mason — J.  S.  Christmas — Colored  Church — Synod  of  Albany  and 
its  Presbyteries — Revivals — Western  New  York — New  Churches 
from  1815  to  1825— From  1825  to  1830— Co-operation  in  Missions 
— Connecticut  Society — Batavia — Buffalo — Rochester — Synod  of 
Genesee  in  1819 — In  1821 — Erection  of  New  Presbyteries — Strength 
of  the  Churches  in  1830 — Hamilton  College — Leading  Ministers — 
Dr.  Fisk — Dr.  Johnston — Dr.  Porter — Dr.  Williston — Dr.  Judd — 
Dr.  Chester — Dr.  Beman — President  Nott — Dr.  Blatchford — Dr. 
Hosack — Dr.  Axtell — Professor  at  Auburn — Caleb  Alexander — 
President  Backus Page  243-283 

CHAPTER   XXXIII. 

OHIO,  1816-1830. 
Western  Reserve  and  its  Presbyteries — Presbytery  of  Hartford  and 
its  Ministers — Synod  of  Ohio  and  its  Presbyteries — Synod  of  Cin- 
cinnati and  its  Presbyteries — Synod  of  Western  Reserve — Churches 
formed  from  1816  to  1830— Early  Ministers  in  1825— Ministers 
after  1815 — Missionaries  of  the  Connecticut  Society — Labors — 
Granville — Gallipolis — Cleveland — Pastors  of  Cleveland  Presby- 
tery— Of  Columbus  Presbytery — Of  Richland  Presbytery — Of  Lan- 
caster— Of  Athens  — Chillicothe  —  Miami  — Cincinnati — Oxford — 
Steubenville — Aggregate — Growth — Origin  of  the  Population — 
Ministers  of  the  Western  Reserve  Presbyteries — Leading  Ministers 


VIH  CONTENTS. 

of  the  State — Education  and  Colleges — Dr.  Bishop — Western  Re- 
serve College Page  283-299 

CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

KENTUCKY,    1816-1830. 

Effects  of  the  War — Infidelity  and  Irreligion — Transylvania  Uni- 
versity— Board  of  Trustees  ejected  by  the  Legislature — History 
of  the  Institution — Kentucky  Academy — United  with  the  Uni- 
versity— Election  of  President  Holley — His  Proclivities — Presby- 
terians excluded  from  Control  of  the  University — Favor  of  the 
Legislature — Danville  College  projected — President  Holley  resigns 
— Revivals — Ross  and  Gallaher — R.  M.  Cunningham — John  Breck- 
inridge— James  McChord — The  Two  Nelsons — Dr.  John  T.  Edgar 
— N.  H.  Hall  and  others Page  299-317 

CHAPTER  XXXV. 

TENNESSEE,    1816-1830. 

Presbyteries  and  Leading  Ministers — Synod  of  Tennessee — Missouri 
Presbytery  —  Missionai'ies  —  Connecticut  Society  —  Cyrus  Kings- 
bury and  the  Cherokees — Mission  to  the  Choctaws — Laborers  at 
Brainerd — Sympathy  of  the  Presbytery — Presbyterian  Mission- 
Churches — Pvemoval  of  the  Cherokees — Disastrous  Effects — Synod 
of  West  Tennessee  in  1826 — Presbyteries — Cause  of  Education 
— Cumberland  College  and  President  Lindsley — Union  Presby- 
tery— French  Broad — West  Tennessee — Dr.  Jennings — Dr.  Camp- 
bell— Memphis — S.  M.  Williamson — Dr.  F.  A.  Ross — James  Gal- 
laher— Ministers  and  Churches  of  Tennessee — Progress  of  the 
Church Page  317-333 

CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

THE    CHURCH   AT    LARGE,    1825-1830. 

Rapid  Progress — Revival  Period — Religious  Enterprise — Missionary 
Societies — American  Home  Missionary  Society — Its  Formation — 
Claims  to  be  National — Welcome  to  its  Missionaries — Destitutions 
in  New  York — Northern  Pennsylvania — Ohio — Indiana — Illinois 
— Michigan — Kentucky — Tennessee — Mississippi  and  Louisiana — 
Alabama — Georgia — Florida — South  Carolina — North  Carolina — 
Northwestern  Virginia — Maryland  and  Eastern  Virginia — Auburn 
Seminary — Western  Reserve  College — Seminary  at  Rock  Spring, 
Illinois — Illinois   College — Hanover   College — Seminary   for   the 


CONTENTS,  IX 

\Yest — Alleghany  Seminary— Lane  Seminary — Southwestern  Theo- 
logical Seminary — West  Tennessee — Mississippi — Union  Seminary 
of  Virginia — Education  Societies — Union  of  the  American  and 
Presbyterian  Education  Societies — Success  of  the  New  Organ- 
ization— United  Foreign  Missionary  Society  merged  in  the  Ame- 
rican Board — Voluntary  Societies — Revivals — In  New  York  City — 
In  Northern  and  Western  New  York — New  Jersey — Philadelphia — 
Ohio — Cincinnati  and  the  Central  Portions  of  the  State — Camp- 
Meetings  in  1830  —  Illinois  —  Michigan  —  Missouri  —  Kentucky — 
West  Tennessee — Southern  States — College  at  Athens,  Ga. — Re- 
vivals in  South  Carolina  and  Georgia — North  Carolina — Vir- 
ginia— Representation  in  the  Assembly — Colonization,  Sabbath, 
Lotteries,  &c. — Psalmody — New  Presbyteries  and  Synods — Growth 
of  the  Church Page  334-366 

CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

MISSION-FIELD    AT    THE    SOUTH    AND    SOUTHWEST,    1810-1830. 

Mission  of  Smylie  and  Hall — Presbytery  of  Mississippi — Joseph 
Sullen — William  Montgomery  —  Smylie  and  Rickhow — Daniel 
Smith  at  Natchez — The  Earliest  Churches — Church  at  Natchez — 
Cornelius  at  New  Orleans — Jeremiah  Chamberlain — Sylvester 
Lamed — Labors  of  Cornelius — Samuel  Royce — Dr.  Z.  Butler  at 
Port  Gibson — Dr.  Dorrance  at  Baton  Rouge — State  of  Things  in 
1822 — Presbytery  of  Mississippi  in  1825 — Oakland  College  — 
Strength  of  the  Presbyteries  in  1831 — Missionaries  to  Georgia — 
Church  of  Savannah — Dr.  Zubly — Dr.  Kollock — Dr.  McWhir — 
Dr.  John  Brown — Missionaries — Presbytery  of  Georgia — Ministers 
and  Churches— State  of  these  in  1837 — Alabama — Early  Mission- 
aries— James  L.  Sloss— The  Presbyteries  in  1825 — In  1 830 — Florida 
— Church  at  St.  Augustine Page  366-394 

CHAPTER  XXXVIIL 

MlSSrON-FIELD    AT    THE    WEST    AND    NORTHWEST,    1810-1830. 

Indiana— First  Missionaries— "Father"  Dickey— Others— Mr.  Der- 
row  and  his  Report— Orin  Fowler— First  Churches— New  Albany 
— Corydon,  Rising  Sun,  Bloomington,  and  others — Missionaries — 
Indianapolis— Isaac  Reed— Evansville — Salem  Presbytery— Mis- 
sionaries and  their  Reports— "Father"  Ross— Ministers  and 
Churches— Growth— New  Presbyteries— Strength  in  1837— Illinois 
—First  Missionaries— Dr.  J.  F.  Crowe— Benjamin  Low— His  Field 


X  CONTENTS. 

—Graham,  Tenney,  and  others— Churches— Ministers  in  1825— 
John  M.  Ellis — Missionaries  from  New  Haven  Seminary — Projected 
College — Other  Ministers — Ministers  previous  to  1837 — Missouri 
—Salmon  Giddings— His  Journey  to  St.  Louis— The  Field— Stephen 
Hempstead — Blackburn — Reception  of  Mr.  Giddings — His  Labors 

Timothy  Flint— Character  of  the  Settlers— Thomas  Donnell— 

Missionaries— John  Matthews — Churches  organized— The  Minis- 
ters-Morals of  the  People— Presbytery  of  Missouri  in  1818 — 
Missionaries— Population  and  Churches— State  of  Things  in  1830 
— In  1837— Marion  College— Sketch  of  its  History— Michigan- 
Detroit —  Visit  of  Dr.  Bangs  —  John  Monteith  —  His  Reports  — 
Assembly's  Missionaries — Mackinaw — Mr.  Monteith's  Labors — 
Churches  formed— Presbyteries Page  394-443 

CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

PERIOD  FROM  1830  TO  1837. 

Growth  of  the  Church— New  Presbyteries— Voluntary  Societies  com- 
mended— Harmony  of  the  Assembly  of  1830 — Conflict  of  Theolo- 
gies— Board  of  Missions— Collision  with  the  Home  Missionary 
Society — Compromise — Division  of  Opinion — Success  of  the  So- 
ciety— Theological  Questions — The  Western  Convention — It  cannot 
agree — Overture  of  Dr.  Rice  on  Foreign  Missions — His  Views — 
Committee  appointed — Action  of  the  Synod  of  Pittsburg — Jeal- 
ousy of  Congregational  Influence — Rights  of  Committee-Men  in 
the  Assembly  questioned — Feeling  excited — Reports  prejudicial  to 
the  Soundness  of  Northwestern  Presbyteries — Revivals — Causes 
of  Suspicion — Opposition  to  New  Haven  Theology — Alienations 
in  the  Presbyterian  Church — Feeling  in  Philadelphia — Barnes, 
Duffield,  and  Beecher — Duffield's  Case — Dr.  Beecher's  Case — His 
Trial — Dr.  Green  opposes  the  Reception  of  Mr.  Barnes  by  Pres- 
bytery—  Discussions,  Complaints,  and  Appeals  —  Protest — Mr. 
Barnes's  Appeal  to  the  Assembly — Dr.  Green's  Paper  adopted — 
Committee  of  Conference— Assembly  of  1831 — Synod's  Refusal  to 
divide  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia — Complaint  to  the  Assembly 
— Action  of  Assembly — Of  Synod  in  Opposition — Action  of  As- 
sembly— The  two  Second  Presbyteries — Protest  against  Assembly's 
Action— Historical  Reference— Synod  of  Delaware— Assembly  of 
1835  —  Preceding  Action  reversed — Mr.  Barnes's  Notes  —  Prose- 
cuted for  Heresy — Acquitted  by  the  Presbytery — Dr.  Junkin 
appeals  to  Synod — Divers  Views  presented — Reconstruction  of 
Presbyteries — Dr.  Breckinridge's    plan — Assembly  of   1836 — Its 


CONTENTS.  XI 

Decision  in  favor  of  Mr.  Barnes — Protests — Reply  of  the  Assembly 
— Mr.  Barnes  and  Dr.  Beecher — Complaints  of  Congregationalism 
and  New  England — Western  Reserve  Synod — Its  Report — Western 
Memorial  of  1834 — Its  Complaints — Voluntary  Societies — Specific 
Errors  charged — Points  proposed  to  the  Assembly — Reply  of  the 
Assembly — Action  of  the  Minority — "The  Act  and  Testimony'' 
— Convention  of  1835 — Views  of  Princeton — The  Convention — 
Assembly  in  sympathy  with  it — Reverse  Policy  of  the  Assem- 
bly of  1836  —  Convention  of  1837  called  —  AVestern  Missionary 
Society  adopted  by  the  Assembly  —  Secret  Measures  —  Discus- 
sions of  the  Conveniion — Memorial  agreed  upon — The  Progress 
of  the  Church  retarded  during  the  Period  from  1833  to  1837 — 
Reasons  for  it — Union  Theological  Seminary  established  at  New 
York Page  443-502 


CHAPTER   XL. 

THE    GENERAL   ASSEMBLIES    OF    1837    AND    1838. 

Assembly  of  1837 — Leading  Members  of  the  two  Parties — Doctrinal 
Errors — "Plan  of  Union"  considered — Resolutions — Abrogation 
of  the  Plan — Remarks  on  it  in  the  Assembly — Inferior  Judicatories 
charged  with  Irregularities — Discussion — Committees  for  a  Di- 
vision of  the  Church — Difficulties  insurmountable — Dr.  Baxter's 
View — Abrogation  of  the  "Plan  of  Union"  cuts  off  the  Western 
Reserve  Synod — Discussion — Decision — American  Home  Mission- 
ary Society — New  York  Synods  cut  off — Third  Presbytery  of 
Philadelphia  dissolved — Further  Proceedings  —  Logical  Conse- 
quences— Memorial  adopted — Protest  by  Dr.  Duffield  and  others 
— "Gentlemen  of  Princeton" — Effects  of  the  Exscinding  Acts — 
Plans  for  the  Division  of  the  Church — Anti-Slavery  Sentiments  in 
Kentucky — Views  of  Southern  Men  and  Bodies — Slavery  in  the 
Convention — Tlie  South  with  the  Memorialists — Assembly  of  1838 
— Correcting  the  Roll — Dr.  Mason's  Resolution — Mr.  Squier  de- 
mands Recognition — Motion  of  Mr.  Cleveland — Dr.  Beman  chosen 
Temporary  Moderator — The  members  withdraw  to  the  First  Church 
—The  Issue Page  508-531 

CHAPTER   XLL 

RESULTS    OF    THE    DIVISION. 

Consultations  in  regard  to  the  Assembly  of  1838 — Auburn  Conven- 
tion in  1837 — Committees'  Reports — Recommendations  of  the  Con- 


Xii  CONTENTS. 

vention  generally  observed — Counsel  taken — Organization  of  the 
Assembly — Forms  observed — Action  of  tiie  Assembly — Synod  of 
Pennsylvania  erected — Reunion  proposed  —  Vindication  of  the 
Rights  of  the  Assembly  by  the  Civil  Courts — Strength  of  the 
Constitutional  General  Assembly — Course  of  Kentucky  Synod — 
Agitating  Discussions — Case  of  Dr.  Stiles — The  Convention — Ken- 
tucky Presbyteries — The  Division  in  Missouri — In  Michigan  and 
Tennessee — In  Synods  of  Illinois,  Indiana,  Ohio,  and  Cincinnati 
—In  Synod  of  Albany — Synod  of  New  York — Synod  of  New  Jersey 
— Of  Pennsylvania  and  Delaware — Of  Virginia — Heated  Discus- 
sions— Professors  in  the  Seminary  requested  to  resign — Course 
of  the  Minority — Division  in  the  Presbyteries — Other  Southern 
Synods  —  East  Tennessee  —  Divided  Presbyteries  —  Lamentable 
Results Page  532-5G2 

CHAPTER  XLII. 

THE    TWO    ASSEMBLIES CONCLUSION. 

"the  two  Divisions  of  the  Church — Elements  that  adhered  to  the  Con- 
stitutional General  Assembly — Anti-Slavery  Feeling — Intluencea 
retarding  the  Growth  of  the  Church — Southern  Secession — Church 
Erection — Home  Missions — Ministerial  Education — Publication — 
The  Assembly  and  the  War — Utterances  on  Slavery— Fraternal 
Spirit  toward  the  other  Branch  of  the  Church — Mission-Field  of 
the  "Old  School"  Body — Secession  of  Southern  Churches — As- 
sembly of  1864 — Fraternal  Spirit— Prospects  of  the  Country  and 
the  Church Page  552-573 


THE  HISTORY 


PRESBYTERIAN   CHURCH 


UNITED  STATES. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 


DELAWARE. — NEW  CASTLE  AND   LEWES  PRESBYTERIES, 

1787-1825. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  present  centiny, 
the  churches  in  the  region  between  the  Chesapeake 
and  Delaware  Bays  were  few,  and,  for  the  most  j)art, 
feeble.  There  had  been  but  little  advance  for  several 
preceding  years;  and  during  the  quarter  of  a  century 
which  followed,  the  progress  was  scarcely  perceptible. 
Here,  where  were  to  be  found  some  of  the  oldest  con- 
gregations within  the  bounds  of  the  Church,  missionary 
effort  was  called  for  almost  as  urgently  as  in  the  new 
fields  at  the  West.  Year  after  year,  missionary  appoint-. 
ments  for  this  region  were  made  by  the  Assembly,  and 
the  pastors  on  the  field  were  constrained  to  volunteer 
in  this  important  work.  Among  the  ministers  emploj^ed 
in  this  service,  from  1805,  were  Rev.  Dr.  Read,  Messrs. 
B.  Marcy,E.  Glasgow,  J.D.Perkins, Moderwell,  Couklin, 
Ballantine,  Scovil,  Campbell,  and  Marshall.  A  portion 
of  the  means  for  their  support  was  derived  from  the 

Vol.  II.— 1  1 


a  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

General  Assembly,  and  a  portion  from  a  local  mission- 
ary society  within  the  State  of  Delaware. 

Emigration  from  the  older  States  greatly  retarded 
the  growth  of  the  Church  in  many  places,  but  perhaps 
nowhere  more  seriously  than  in  Delaware  and  Mary- 
land. The  population  of  the  former  State  from  1800 
to  1820  increased  only  twelve  per  cent.  Some  of  the 
oldest  churches  dwindled  away  till  they  almost  became 
extinct.  It  required  no  small  etfort  to  stay  the  tide  of 
desolation  and  sustain  what  remained  but  was  ready 
to  die. 

In  1789,  the  Presbytery  of  New  Castle,  extending 
into  Pennsylvania,  numbered  sixteen  ministers  and 
twenty-five  congregations,  of  which  five  were  vacant. 
In  1800,  it  consisted  of  fifteen  ministers,  and  had  under 
its  care  thirty-four  congregations,  of  which  fifteen  were 
vacant.     In  1825,  the  number  was  still  thirty-four. 

The  patriarch  of  the  Presbytery,  Dr.  Eobert  Smith, 
w^ho  died  in  1793,  had  been  settled  for  forty-two  years 
over  the  church  of  Pequa,  Pa.,  with  which  that  of 
Leacock  was  united  till  1759.  Under  his  instructions 
a  large  number  of  the  ministers  of  the  Church  had 
been  trained;  and  of  his  two  sons,  one  was  destined  to 
become  President  of  Union,  and  the  other  of  Prince- 
ton, College.  A  thorough  scholar,  a  devoted  pastor, 
and  a  wise  counsellor,  his  life  was  crowned  with 
memories  of  goodness  and  usefulness.  His  successors 
at  Pequa  were  William  Arthur^  (1796-1818)  and  Amzi 
Babbit.     At  Leacock,  in   conjunction  with  Lancaster 

1  William  Arthur,  a  native  of  Scotland,  and  educated  at  the 
University  of  Edinburgh,  was  settled  in  January,  1796.  Distin- 
guished for  his  common  sense  and  firmness  of  purpose,  and  for  the 
brevity,  point,  and  effectiveness  of  his  sermons,  his  ministry  con- 
tinued till  1818.;  although  his  life  was  continued  in  enfeebled  health 
till  1827. 


DELAWARE,    1787-1S25.  3 

and  ■Middle  Oetorara,  Nathaniel  W.  Seniple,  a  graduate  of 
Princeton  in  1776,  was  settled  1780-1821. 

The  pastorate  of  William  MeKennan  over  the 
churches  of  White  (^lay  Creek  and  Red  Clay  Creek 
commenced  in  1755,  and  continued  till  his  death  i*i 
1809.  For  thirty-four  j-ears  he  had  charge  also  of  the 
First  Church  of  Wilmington,  where  he  was  succeeded 
in  1796  by  F.  A.  Latta,  who  left  soon  after  1803.  The 
Christiana,  popularly  called  "Second  Presbyterian,"  Church 
was  formed  by  a  colony  from  the  First  in  1772,  under  Joseph 
Smith,  whose  pastorate  continued  to  1778.  His  successors 
were  William  R.  Smith  (1779-96),  Thomas  Read  (1798- 
1817),  E.  W.  Gilbert  (1817-34  and  1849-41),  William 
Hogarth  (1841-46),  J.  E.  Rockwell  (1849-51),  A.  D.  Pol- 
lock  (1852-55),   William   Aikman   (1857-68),  Lafayette 

Marks  (1869 ).     Under   Dr.  Gilbert's   pastorate  a  new 

church  edifice  was  erected,  and  the  name  changed  to  Han- 
over Street  Presbyterian  Church.  The  First  Church, 
meanwhile,  remained  vacant  for  a  long  period  after  the 
dismission  of  Mr.  Latta,  and  was  temporarily  supplied  by 
Dr.  Read  after  his  dismission  from  the  Second  Church.^ 

At  Fagg's  Manor — associated  with  the  name  and 
labors  of  Samuel  Blair — John  E.  Finley  labored  as 
pastor  from  1777  till  his  removal  to  Kentucky  in  1795. 
His  successors  were  Patrick  Davidson  (1798-1807  ?), 
Robert  White  (1810-35),  and  A.  Hamilton. 

At  Donegal,  Pa.,  Colin  McFarquhar  had  been  long 
settled,  but  was  succeeded  about  1809  by  William  Kerr, 
— "  highly  esteemed   by   his   brethren," — who   died   in 


^  The  Central  Presbyterian  Charcli  of  Wilmington  was  organized 
by  the  Presbytery  of  Wilmington,  Dec.  6,  1855.  The  original  mem- 
bership numbered  twenty-three.  On  Jan.  1,  1850,  G.  F.  Wiswell 
was  called  as  pastor.  The  church  has  been  prosperous,  and  has 
enjoyed  successive  seasons  of  revival. — Presbyterian  Almanac, 
18G0. 


4  HISTORY    or    PBESBYTERIANISM. 

1823.  His  successoi*,  who  had  charge  also  of  Marietta, 
was  Orson  Douglass. 

At  Chesnut  Level,  Pa.,  the  pastorate  of  Dr.  James 
Latta,  which  commenced  in  1770,  closed  in  1800.  It 
was  several  years  before  his  son  Francis  A.  Latta, 
whose  ministry  continued  till  1834,  was  settled  as  his 
successor. 

At  Forks  of  Brandywine,  where  for  twenty-five 
years  previous  John  Carmichael  had  made  proof  of  a 
faithful  ministry,  Nathan  Grier  was  settled  in  1787. 
Upon  his  death,  in  1814,  his  son,  Dr.  John  N.  C.  Grier, 
was  chosen  unanimously  as  his  successor,  and  has  re- 
tained the  pastorate  for  nearly  half  a  century. 

Christiana  and  New  Castle  had  long  been  vacant, 
when — Aug.  13,  1800 — John  E.  Latta  commenced  his 
pastorate  of  the  united  congregations,  closing  it  with 
his  life  in  1824. 

White  Clay  and  Head  of  Chi'istianahad  John  McCreary 
probably  from  1769  to  1799.  Subsequently,  for  several 
years,  the  churches  were  vacant.  About  1812,  Andrew 
K.  Eussell  succeeded  McCreary,  and  remained  for  several 
years. 

Ujiper  Octorara  and  Doe  Run,  Pa.,  had  Alexander 
Mitchel  in  1789.  He  left  in  1795-96,  and  the  churches 
remained  vacant  until  the  settlement  of  James  Latta, 
whose  pastorate  has  extended  down  to  a  recent  period. 

At  Middletown  and  Pencader,  Thomas  Smith  was 
settled  previous  to  1789,  but  left  before  1795.  In  1809, 
Pencader  was  reported  as  forming  a  united  charge  with 
St.  George's,  where  John  Bui'ton  was  laboring  in  1789 
and  John  Collins  in  1803.  In  1796-9,  Pencader  and 
Middletown  were  united  under  William  Chealy;  but 
in  1814  we  find  Pencader  united  with  St.  George's 
under  Samuel  Bell,  who  was  still  in  charge  in  1825, 
Middletown  meanwhile  disappearing  from  the  roll  of 
Presbytery. 


DELAWARi:,    1787-1825.  ,  5 

At  Center  autl  Bethel,  Md.,  George  Luckj^  com- 
menced, j)revious  to  17SG,  a  pastorate  which  continued 
for  over  a  quarter  of  a  century.  At  Slate  Eidge,  Dr. 
Samuel  Martin  was  settled  in  1793,  taking  charge 
shortly  after  of  Chanceford,  and,  with  an  interval  of  a 
few  months  (1812),  his  pastorate  of  about  fifty  years 
was  in  connection  with  these  two  congregations.  Of 
Middletown  and  Lower  Brandy  wine  Thomas  Grier  took 
charge  about  1801-02,  but  left  before  1809.  Previous 
to  1814,  Lower  Brandywine  formed  a  part  of  the 
charge  of  Samuel  Henderson,  in  connection  with  Eed 
Clay  Creek  and  Doe  Run,  of  which  he  had  meanwhile 
taken  charge.  At  "West  Nottingham,  where  James 
Munro  was  laboring  in  1789,  James  Magraw  was  settled 
previous  to  1809;  and  here  he  continued  for  many  years. 
At  New  London,  Pa.,  and  the  Rock, — reported  vacant 
from  1789  to  1814, — Robert  Graham  was  reported  pas- 
tor at  the  latter  date,  and  here  remained  for  several 
years.  At  the  same  time  (1814)  William  Finney  was 
reported  settled  at  Deer  Creek,  where  he  still  remained 
in  1819.  Of  quite  a  number  of  vacant  congregations 
more  than  one-half  were  unable  to  support  a  pastor. 

Several  of  the  names  mentioned  above  are  worthy 
of  more  specific  notice.  Among  them  we  may  mention 
especially  those  of  Grier,  Read,  Gilbert,  the  two  sons 
of  Dr.  Latta,  and  Dr.  Martin.  Grier  was  of  Scotch- 
Ii'ish  descent,  but  a  native  of  Bucks  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania. Devoted  to  God  from  his  youth,  and  remark- 
able for  piety  from  his  early  years,  he  intelligently 
devoted  himself  to  the  work  of  the  ministry.  His 
classical  studies  were  pursued  under  his  brother.  Rev. 
James  Grier,  of  Deep  Run.  In  1783  he  was  a  graduate 
of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  and  in  1786  he  was 
licensed  to  preach  by  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia. 
In  the  following  year  he  was  settled  at  the  Forks  of 
the    Brandywine,    and    there    continued    to   labor   for 

1* 


6  HISTORY    OF   PRESBYTERIANISM. 

twenty-seven  years.  His  successor  was  his  son,  John 
N.  C.  Grier. 

In  his  devotion  to  his  large  and  important  charge, 
Mr.  Grier  was  eminently  blessed.  Firm  of  purpose, 
faithful  in  duty,  but  dignified  as  well  as  affable  in 
demeanor,  his  whole  course  secured  respect  and  esteem. 
Many  of  the  ministers  of  the  Church,  as  well  as  his 
own  sons,  were  trained  for  future  usefulness  under  his 
direction.  His  rej^utation  as  a  teacher  and  a  preacher 
stood  deservedly  high;  while  "the  quiet  and  order  of 
his  house,  his  example  as  a  devoted  Christian,  pastor, 
and  preacher,  his  pleasant  manners,  his  kind  and  ready 
efforts  to  promote  the  piety,  comfort,  and  knowledge 
of  his  students,"  rendered  the  memory  of  the  times 
and  circumstances  with  which  his  name  was  associated 
"  pleasant  and  imperishable." 

Dr.  Thomas  Read,  from  1798  to  1817  the  pastor  of 
the  Second  Presbyterian  Church  of  Wilmington,  was 
of  Irish  descent,  a  native  of  Maryland,  and  a  pupil  of 
Dr.  Francis  Alison  at  the  University  of  Pennsylvania. 
For  some  years  he  was  engaged  as  tutor  of  the  Clas- 
sical Academy  at  Newark,  not  far  from  his  native  place. 
From  1772  to  1797  he  was  settled  as  pastor  at  Drawyer's 
Creek,  in  Delaware.  He  found  his  people  a  small  and 
feeble  band.  They  worshipped  in  "  a  log  house  in  the 
fmidstof  the  wilderness;"  but  in  1773  they  erected  a  ca- 
pacious brick  edifice  for  worship,  and  became  ultimately 
one  of  the  most  flourishing  congregations  in  the  State.* 
While  laboring  in  this  connection,  he  performed  much 
missionary  labor,  taking  a  circuit  in  the  surrounding 


1  Drawyer's  is  reported  vacant  after  Dr.  Read  left  in  1797.  In  1809 
this  was  still  the  case.  In  1814  and  1819,  John  Burton  is  reported 
as  stated  supply.  In  1825,  Joseph  Wilson  had  charge  of  Drawyer's, 
Middletown,  and  Smyrna,  or  Duck  Creek  ;  but  Smyrna  was  given 
up  after  one  year. 


DELAWARE,    1787-1825.  7 

region  of  from  thirty  to  forty  miles.  Grave  and  dig- 
nified in  manner,  devoted  to  his  work,  impressive  and 
earnest  in  speech,  and  consistent  in  life,  his  labors  were 
remarkably  blessed. 

His  successor  was  Eliphalet  W.  Gilbert,  afterward 
President  of  Delaware  College,  and  finally  pastor  of 
the  Western  Presbyterian  Church  of  Philadelphia. 
Dr.  Gilbert  received  his  collegiate  education  at  Union 
College  and  his  theological  at  Princeton  Seminary, 
and  in  1817,  after  a  missionary  tour  to  the  West,  was 
settled  at  Wilmington.  Self-forgetful,  disintei-ested,  and 
devoted,  an  independent  thinkei',  fearless  in  utterance, 
but  with  a  gentleness  of  demeanor  that  changed  oppo- 
nents to  friends,  he  labored  in  this  sphere  of  the  pas- 
torate, with  a  short  intei'mission,  until  1841. 

Like  his  predecessor,  he  was  in  the  habit  of  making 
missionary  visits,  sometimes  in  company  with  other 
brethren,  to  diff"erent  towns  and  neighborhoods  in  the 
peninsula.  The  results  of  these  were  cheering.  Great 
good  was  accomplished.  New  churches  were  esta- 
blished, feeble  ones  were  strengthened,  and  some  of 
the  prominent  men  of  the  region,  who  had  before  been 
neglectful  of  religion,  were  thus  brought  to  reflection 
and  repentance. 

Of  John  E.  Latta  and  Francis  A.  Latta, — the  two 
sons  of  Eev.  Dr.  James  Latta,  pastor  of  Deep  Eun  and 
afterward  of  Chesnut  Level  congregation,  in  Lancaster 
county,  Pa., — the  first  was  settled  at  New  Castle  and 
Christiana  village,  and  the  last  at  Wilmington.  The 
first  was  for  several  years  permanent  clerk  of  the 
General  Assembly,  and  for  a  number  of  years  he  had 
an  academy  at  New  Castle,  in  connection  with  which 
several  men  of  high  distinction  in  Church  and  State 
were  educated.  Intelligent,  exemplary,  and  conscien- 
tious, with  warm  sympathies,  enlarged  views,  and 
liberal  feelings,  he  was  honored  with  universal  respect 


8  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

and  esteem.  He  was  "  a  faithful,  clear,  and  instructive 
expounder  of  the  word  of  God." 

His  brother  Francis  was  an  excellent  classical 
scholar,  a  man  of  fine  and  well-cultivated  mind,  a  poet, 
and  an  eloquent  pulpit-orator.  There  were  few,  if  any, 
in  his  day  who  could  be  accounted  his  superiors  in 
scholarly  pursuits  and  the  graces  of  public  speech. 
During  a  large  part  of  his  ministry  he  devoted  himself 
to  .the  work  of  a  teacher,  and  in  the  latter  part  of  his 
life  to  that  exclusively. 

At  Chanceford,  Pa.,  for  nearly  half  a  century  Samuel 
Martin,  a  native  of  Chesnut  Level  and  a  theological 
pupil  of  Dr.  James  Latta  and  Dr.  Smith  of  Pequa,  lived 
and  labored.  His  early  life  was  that  of  a  farmer's  boy; 
and,  though  under  the  training  of  Christian  parents,  it 
M^as  not  until  his  conversion,  in  his  twenty-second  year, 
that  his  attention  was  drawn  to  a  preparation  for  the 
ministry.  By  native  energy  he  was  enabled  to  over- 
come many  obstacles,  and  in  1790  was  graduated  at 
the  University  of  Pennsylvania.  Licensed  in  1793  by 
Baltimore  Presbytery,  he  was  soon  after  ordained  and 
installed  pastor  of  Slate  Eidge,  Pa.,  between  which  and 
the  congregation  of  Chanceford — after  serving  the  first 
exclusively  for  five  years — he  divided  his  labors.  With 
the  exception  of  about  eighteen  months  during  which 
he  removed  to  Eockville,  Md.,  this  was  the  scene  of  his 
pastorate  until  his  death  in  1845. 

Earely  has  any  people  enjoyed  the  services  of  a  pas- 
tor more  worthy  or  beloved.  In  him  the  lofty  cha- 
racteristics of  a  noble  mind  were  combined  with  the 
simplicity  and  playfulness  of  a  child.  Void  of  worldly 
ambition,  he  aimed  simplj''  to  be  useful.  Sincere, 
generous,  ardent,  he  was  a  guileless  friend,  and  placed 
himself  on  a  level  with  the  humblest  that  approached 
him.  Yet  he  was  "a  master  in  Israel,"  and  in  the 
higrhcr  ecclesiastical  courts  an  able  debater.     His  min- 


DELAWARE,    1787-1825,  9 

isterial  qualifications  were  of  no  common  order.  The 
announcement — w^herever  he  was  known — that  he  was 
expected  to  preach,  secured  a  crowded  house.  His 
sermons  were  seldom  written,  and  his  Sabbath  pre- 
parations were  embodied  in  a  few  brief  notes.  His 
Bible  and  Concordance  constituted  his  authorities  for 
reference.  His  delivery  was  energetic  and  animated, 
and  his  discourses  at  once  convinced  the  mind  and 
impressed  the  heart.  An  independent  thinker,  he  dealt 
not  so  much  with  commonplace  ideas  draped  in  fine 
rhetoric,  as  in  glowing  thoughts  adorned  by  their  fresh- 
ness and  originality  or  arresting  attention  by  their 
simple  grandeur. 

Before  the  commencement  of  the  Eevolutionary  War, 
the  Presbytery  of  Lewes,  the  bounds  of  which  extended 
over  Southern  Delaware  and  the  Eastern  Shore  of 
Maryland,  had  been  reduced  (1773)  to  but  four  mem- 
bers. These  were  John  Miller^  (1749-91),  of  Dover  and 
Smyrna,  Matthew  Wilson  (1756-90),  of  Lewestown, 
Cool  Spring,  and  Indian  Eiver  (1767-90),  Jacob  Ker 
(1764-95),  who  for  about  nine  years  had  been  in  charge 
of  the  old  congregations  of  Monokin  and  Wicomoeo, 
and  Alexander  Huston,  pastor  (1764-85)  till  his  death 
of  Murderkill  and  Three  Euns.  The  care  of  the  feeble 
churches  devolved  upon  these  men  a  double  duty  at  a 
time  when  their  own  congregations  seemed  to  claim 
their  entire  attention.  Throughout  the  period  of  the 
war,  only  on  three  occasions  was  a  single  member  of 
Presbytery  present  at  the  meeting  of  Synod, — Ebenezer 
Brooks,  whose  connection  with  the  body  was  but  tran- 
sient, in  1777,  and  John  Miller,  whose  health  was 
already  greatly  enfeebled,  in  1780  and  1781. 

The  peculiar  circumstances  in  which  they  were  placed 

1  Father  of  Professor  Miller,  of  Princeton. 


10  HISTORY    or    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

fully  sufficed  to  account  for  their  absence.*  The 
hazards  to  which  their  journey  would  expose  them 
were  too  jjerilous  to  be  encountered;  and  as  to  Dr.  "Wil- 
son," his  decided  preference  for  Congregationalism,  in 
which  he  failed  to  secure  the  co-opei-ative  sympathy  of 
Miller, — though  the  latter  had  been  ordained  in  Boston 
by  a  council  of  which  Sewall,  Webb,  and  Byles  were 
members, — would  not  incline  him  to  any  thing  which 
could  be  (.onstrued  into  ecclesiastical  martyrdom. 
These  four  men — Miller,  an  exemplary,  self-denying, 
laborious,  studious,  and  devoted  pastor,  Wilson,  mild,  in- 
structive, persuasive,  rather  than  animated  or  powerful, 
and  with  few  superiors  for  talent,  learning,  or  devoted 
piety,  Ker,  "a  great  and  good  man,"  "a bright  luminary 
in  the  Church,  who  lived  exemplarily,  preached  warmly, 
and  prayed  fervently,"  and  Huston,  over  whose  early 
decease  the  tears  of  many  fell — had  before  them  an 
extended  but  destitute  field,  which  demanded  of  them 
a  measure  of  culture  which  they  were  unable  to  bestow. 
The  feeble  health  of  both  Miller  and  Wilson  devolved 
upon  Ker  and  Huston  an  increased  burden.  They  could 
not  comply  "  with  half  the  calls  made  upon  them  to 
preach  and  to  administer  the  ordinances."  At  this  crisis 
it  was  resolved  to  petition  the  adjoining  Presbytery  of 
New  Castle  for  aid.  An  urgent  appeal  was  drawn  up 
(Oct.  19,  1773),  setting  forth  the  fact  that  "  here  are 
numbers  of  starving  souls  crying  to  us  for  the  bread 
of  life,  and  we  are  unable  to  assist  them.  We  there- 
fore apply  to  you,  our  dear  Christian  fellow-laborers, 
who  ai'e  not  only  concerned  for  your  particular 
churches,  but  for  the  whole  Church  of  Christ,  and 
earnestly   request    you,    as   you   regard   the   common 


^  For  fifteen  months  the  Tory  agitation  prevented  the  Presbytery 
from  meeting. 

'  Father  of  Rev.  Dr.  James  Patriot  Wilson,  of  Philadelphia. 


DELAWARE,    1787-1S25.  11 

intei'est  of  our  Lord  Jesus,  that  you  send  us  what  sup- 
plies you  possibly  can." 

Two  noble-hearted  young  men  caught  the  echo  of 
this  "  Macedonian  cry,"  and  responded  promptly  to  the 
appeal.'  These  were  Samuel  McMaster  and  John  Ean- 
kin.  The  former  found  his  field  of  labor  at  Snow  Hill 
and  Pitts  Creek ;  the  latter,  who  was  as  yet  only  a 
candidate,  was  not  licensed  until  1775.  Supplying  for 
a  time  the  churches  of  Buckingham  and  Blackwater, 
yet  extending  his  labors  to  the  vacant  churches  of 
Fishing  Creek  and  Vienna,  he  received  from  the  former 
a  call  to  settle  with  them,  with  which  he  complied  in 
1778. 

For  more  than  twenty  years  his  ministry  was  efficient 
and  successful.  He  had  great  difiiculties  to  meet.  The 
distractions  of  the  times,  political  and  martial  strife, 
and  the  suffeinngs  and  hardships  inflicted  by  the  war, 
constituted  but  a  portion  of  his  obstacles.  "  Wicked 
men  walked  abroad  in  the  unrestrained  indulgence  of 
every  lust,  infidelity  was  rife,  strange  sectarists  were 
diffusing  their  erroneous  and  even  poisonous  sentiments 
over  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  Peninsula,"  and  at 
no  time,  perhaps,  had  the  prospects  of  religion  been 
more  dark  or  dubious. 

But  Rankin  devoted  himself  to  his  work;  and  his 
labors  were  not  in  vain.  A  well-trained*  and  able 
theologian,  a  fervid  and  zealous  preacher,  with  a  read}'- 
utterance  and  a  manifest  sincerity  which  commanded 
confidence,  he  was  attentively  listened  to  wherever  he 
went.  Few  men  have  enjoyed  greater  popularity,  and 
fewer  still  have  turned  it  to  better  account.  With 
unremitting  energy  he  visited  the  waste  places,  and 
preached  to  the  destitute  wherever  he  could  find  thom. 

*  Sprague,  iii.  361. 

*  His  theological  instructor  was  Dr.  Read,  of  Wilmington. 


12  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

His  own  church  was  remarkably  blessed.  It  was  not 
long  before  the  old  frame  building  in  which  he  entered 
upon  his  work  had  to  be  pulled  down  to  accommodate 
his  increasing  congregation,  and  a  stately  and  com- 
modious brick  edifice  was  erected,  which,  after  with- 
standing the  storms  of  more  than  seventy  winters,  was 
unroofed  and  dilapidated  by  the  tempest  'of  January, 
1857. 

Mr.  Eankin  left  behind  him  a  hallowed  memory. 
The  charm  of  his  conversations,  exhortations,  and  ser- 
mons long  lingered  in  the  minds  of  those  that  heard 
them,  and  in  the  traditions  of  his  life  and  labors.  His 
holy  influence  had  its  record  in  many  a  humble 
memorial,  though  the  records  of  the  Sessions  of  his 
churches  have  not  been  preserved.  With  his  name  is 
associated  a  character  which  combined  cheerfulness, 
energy,  piety,  and  usefulness.  Not  a  traditionary 
reminiscence  of  an  imprudence  or  indiscretion  seems 
to  have  survived  him.  The  obituary  record  of  the 
Presbytery  pronounced  that  in  him  "  the  Church  had 
lost  a  zealous  advocate,  the  Presbytery  a  worthy  mem- 
ber, and  his  country  a  warm  patriot."  He  died  in  1798, 
and  after  several  years  Charles  Wallace^  was  reported 
(1814-19)  pastor  of  Blackwater,  Buckingham,  and 
Queponco. 

Upon  the  death  of  Wilson,  who  had  been  settled  at 
Lewes,  in  conjunction  with  Cool  Spring,  from  17i56  to 
1790,  he  was  succeeded  by  Francis  Hindman  (who  had 
charge  also  of  Indian  River),  John  Burton  (so  reported 
in  1799  and  1803),  James  P.  Wilson  (1804-06),  and  Joseph 
Copes  (1809  and  1819).  Benjamin  Ogden  was  pastor 
at  Lewes  in  1825. 

At  Murderkill,  Three  Euns,  and  Johnstown,*  McKee's 

1  In  1809  he  was  at  "Queen  Ann's."  Stuart  Williamson  had 
charge  of  the  churches  in  1804. 

2  Sometimes  written  St.  Johnston. 


DELAWARE,    1787-1825.  13 

ministry  closed  before  1795;  soon  after  wLich  he  was 
succeeded  by  John  Johnson,  who  left  before  1801, 
although  he  is  again  reported  at  Murderkill  in  1803. 
Both  churches  were  vacant  in  1809,  and  neither  appears 
on  the  roll  of  Presbytery  in  1819.  From  1795  Dover 
is  reported  vacant  till  1819,  when  E.  P.  Swift  was  stated 
supply  for  Dover  and  Milford.  In  1825,  Eobert  M. 
Laird  is  reported  as  settled  at  Princess  Ann. 

Not  long  after  the  death  of  Jacob  Ker,  in  1795,  the 
churches  of  Monokin  and  Wicomoco  came  under  the 
pastoral  charge  of  John  B.  Slemons,  who  continued 
with  them  for  over  twenty  years.  The  pastorate  of 
Samuel  McMaster  over  the  congregations  of  Snow 
Hill,  Pitts  Creek,  and  Eehoboth,  which  commenced 
about  1775,  continued  till  after  1809  ;  in  1814  he  had 
been  succeeded  by  Stuart  Williamson,  but  in  1819 
they  were  left  vacant.  In  1825,  Thomas  B.  Balch  was 
pastor.^ 

Thus  the  Presbytery  of  Lewes  scarcely  made  good 
what  it  lost  by  deaths  and  removals.  In  1802  it  num- 
bered but  four  ministers,  the  same  as  in  1773.  In  1808 
there  had  been  no  increase;  and  for  several  years — its 
feebleness  had  become  such — it  was  conjoined  (reports 
for  1814  and  1819)  with  the  Presbytery  of  New  Castle. 
In  1825,  after  the  Presbytery  of  Lewes  had  been 
restored,  it  numbered  eighteen  churches,  with  six  min- 
isters and  two  licentiates.  The  Presbytery  of  New 
Castle  at  the  same  time  had  under  its  care  thirty-four 
churches,  and  numbered  twenty-one  ministers.  About 
two-thirds  of  its  churches  were  in  Pennsylvania,  and 
several  of  them  were  quite  large  and  flourishing.* 

^  At  Columbia,  Stephen  Boyer  was  settled  soon  after  1814,  and 
continued  till  about  1830.  Queen  Ann's  was  vacant  in  1795;  and, 
although  Charles  Wallace  was  reported  there  in  1809,  it  thenceforh 
disappears  from  the  roll  of  Presbytery. 

'  The  large  membership   of   the  several  charges,  averaging  for 

Vol.  11,-2 


14  HISTORY    OF    I'UESBVTLKIAMSM. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

MARYLAND    AND    VIRGINIA,    1800-1820. 

Baltimore  Presbyteiy,  which  had  seven  pastors  in 
1800,  had  bat  eight  in  1818.  The  growth  of  the  Church 
had  been  rather  in  the  strengthening  of  congregations 
already  established,  than  in  the  gathering  of  new 
organizations.  At  Baltimore,  the  church  of  which  Dr. 
Allison  was  so  long  pastor — from  1763  until  his  death 
in  1802 — could  not  agree  on  the  choice  of  a  successor. 
James  Inglis  and  John  Glendy  were  rival  candidates, 
the  former  receiving  a  call  by  a  bare  majority.  The 
friends  of  the  latter,  resolved  to  secure  his  services, 
withdrew,  in  order  to  form  a  new  congregation ;  and 
in  1803  a  house  of  w^oi'ship  was  erected,  and  in  due 
time  Mr.  Glendy  was  installed  as  pastor. 

The  first  efforts  to  establish  the  Third  Church  date 
from  1819.  In  October  of  that  year,  Nicholas  Patter- 
son, a  licentiate  of  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia,  on 
a^ visit  to  the  city,  found  no  evangelical  church  west 
of  Eutaw  Street.  Happening  to  step  into  a  school- 
each  over  two  hundred,  indicated  their  general  prosperity.  The 
Fagg's  Manor  Church,  under  Robert  White,  reported  four  hundred 
and  fourteen ;  the  Upper  Octorara,  under  James  Latta,  three  hun- 
dred and  seventy-three  ;  Forks  of  Brandywine,  under  John  N.  C. 
Grier,  three  hundred  and  forty-eight ;  Leacock  and  Middle  Octo- 
rara, under  Joseph  Barr,  two  hundred  and  thirty-two ;  while 
within  the  bounds  of  Delaware,  the  Second  Church  of  Wilmington 
had  three  hundred  and  thirty-three,  New  Castle  and  Christiana 
one  hundred  and  sixty-six,  Head  of  Christiana  and  White  Clay 
Creek  two  hundred  and  seventy-two,  and  St.  George's  and  Pencader 
one  hundred  and  eighty-seven. 


MARYLAND    AND    VIRGINIA,    1800-1820.  15 

house  in  Franklin  Street,  near  the  present  Twelfth 
Presbyterian  Church,  he  was  invited  to  address  the 
children.  The  eflfect  was  such  that  the  teacher,  Mr. 
Yallow,  offered  the  room  as  a  place  for  preaching  and 
holding  a  school  on  the  Sabbath.  Meetings  were  held 
here,  at  Avhich  some  of  the  most  devoted  Christians  of 
diffei'ent  evangelical  denominations  in  Baltimore  fre- 
quently attended.  A  Sabbath-school  of  one  hundred 
and  sixty  scholars  was  gathered,  and  the  prospect  was 
so  encouraging  that  steps  were  soon  taken  to  organize 
a  church.  Tw^o  thousand  dollars  were  secured  in  Balti- 
more, and  aid  was  solicited  at  the  North.  In  May, 
1822,  the  organization  was  eflFected,  and  in  the  follow- 
ing year  W.  C.  Walton  was  installed  as  pastor.  He 
(eft  in  the  following  year,  and  in  1827  the  church  was 
supplied  by  Truman  Osborn,  who  remained  for  about 
two  years.  In  1830-31,  George  W.  Musgrave  was  in- 
stalled as  pastor.^ 

At  Greorgetown  the  pastorate  of  Dr.  Balch  extended 
from  1782  to  1833,  and  his  successor  was  John  C.  Smith. 
At  Alexandria,  Elias  Harrison  was  called  (1817)  as  as- 
sistant of  Dr.  Muir;  and  a  Second  Church  was  shortly 
afterward  organized,  under  the  pastoral  care  of  Wells 
Andrews.     The  latter  was  succeeded  in  May,  1827,  by 

1  The  Fourth  and  Fifth  Churches  were  organized  about  1835—36. 
In  1837,  the  pastors  of  the  city  were — John  C.  Backus  of  the  First 
Church,  R.  .J.  Breckenridge  of  the  Second,  G.  W.  Musgrave  of  the 
Third,  and  James  G.  Hamner  of  the  Fifth,  while  Sheridan  Guiteau 
was  stated  supply  of  the  Fourth.  In  1820,  on  the  death  of  Dr. 
Inglis  iu  that  year,  William  Nevins  was  ordained  and  installed 
as  his  successor.  Upon  his  death,  in  1835,  Dr.  Backus  was  called 
to  succeed  him.  In  1826,  John  Breckenridge  was  settled  as  col- 
,eague  of  Dr.  Glendy  in  the  Second  Church.  The  former  was  called 
la  1831  to  the  Secretaryship  of  the  Board  of  Education  iu  Phila- 
delphia, and  Dr.  Glendy  died  in  1832.  In  the  course  of  the  year 
(Nov.  1832),  R.  J.  Breckenridge  was  called  to  succeed  him  (1832- 
45). 


16  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

"William  C.  Walton,  who  was  dismissed  in  October,  1832. 
His  successor  in  1836  was  Dr.  William  Hill,  whose  pas- 
torate continued  only  for  two  years. 

Al  Washington,  the  efforts  of  the  Associate  Eeformed 
to  establish  a  Presbyterian  church  delayed  the  measures 
taken  for  establishing  one  in  connection  with  the  As- 
sembly. After  a  few  years,  however,  Bladensburg  and 
Washington  were  the  joint  charge  of  John  Bracken- 
ridge.  Meanwhile,  Samuel  Knox,  of  Fredericktown, 
had  accepted  the  Presidency  of  Baltimore  College. 
Enoch  Matson  still  (1819)  remained  in  the  pastorate  at 
(the  Island  of)  Bermuda,  and  Joshua  T.  Russell  had 
for  a  short  time  been  settled  at  Cabin  John,  while 
Patrick  Davidson  had  succeeded  Samuel  Knox  at 
Fredericktown  and  Pipe  Creek.  The  other  members 
of  the  Presbytery  in  1819  were  Thomas  L.  Birch, 
William  MaiRt,  James  Carnahan,  engaged  as  a  teacher 
at  Georgetown,  Thomas  C.  Searle,  Thomas  B.  Balch, 
and  Andrew  Hunter, — the  last  a  chaplain  in  the  service 
of  the  United  States.^ 

1  A  letter  from  Rev.  Dr.  S.  Martin,  written  March  20,  1839,  pub- 
lished in  the  "Presbyterian  Standard,"  April  16,  1863,  says  of 
another  minister  of  Maryland,  although  a  member  of  the  Presby- 
tery of  New  Castle, — 

"  The  Rev.  George  Lucky,  who  labored  and  died  at  Bethel,  Har- 
ford county,  Md.,  and  for  a  large  part  of  his  time  also  preached  at 
Centre  Church,  about  seven  miles  north  of  Bethel  on  the  Maryland 
and  Pennsylvania  line,  was  born  in  Fagg's  Manor,  Chester  county. 
Pa.,  and  brought  up  under  the  ministry  of  Mr.  Blair.  He  was  a 
fine  classical  scholar,  an  intelligent  preacher,  in  his  manners  plain, 
in  labors  unwearied ;  in  his  pastoral  labors  from  house  to  house  he 
excelled.  Few,  very  few,  had  an  equal  acquaintance  with  the  Scrip- 
tures; and  he  had  an  art,  possef/sed  by  but  few,  of  introducing 
religious  duties  when  thrown  inti>  society  who  were  ignorant  of 
them  and  had  an  aversion  from  them.  He  was  a  Calvinist  fuL 
grown." 

Mr.  Lucky's  name  first  appears  on  the  Minutes  of  Sj'nod  in  1785. 
It  is  last  mentioned  in  1819. 


MARYLAND   AND    VIRGINIA,    1SOO-I820.  1" 

In  1823,  the  Presbytery  of  the  District  of  Columbia 
was  formed  from  that  of  Baltimore,  leaving  to  the 
latter,  beside  the  churches  of  the  city,  only  those  of 
Bethel,  and  Fredericktown  and  Pipe  Creek.  Of  the 
first  of  these,  George  Morrison  was  pastor  till  after 
1833;  of  Fredericktown,  vacant  for  several  years,  James 
G.  Hamner  became  pastor  in  1831-32  ;  but  previous  to 
1837,  both  had  been  dismissed. 

In  1825,  the  Presbytery  of  the  District  of  Columbia 
consisted  of  thirteen  ministers  and  nine  churches, — Dr. 
Balch,  and  his  colleague,  John  N.  Campbell,  at  George- 
town, John  Brackenridge  at  Bladensburg,  John  Mines 
at  Cabin  John  and  Bethesda,  James  Laurie,  of  the  As- 
sociate Eeformed  Church  of  Washington,  who  in  1822 
came  into  connection  with  the  General  Assembl3^ 
Reuben  Post,  of  the  First  Church,  Washington,  Daniel 
Baker,  of  the  Second  Church,  Elias  Harrison  and  Wells 
Andrews,  of  the  First  and  Second  Churches  of  Alexan- 
dria, together  with  some  other  ministers  without 
charge.  No  other  churches,  with  the  single  exception 
of  the  Fourth  Church  of  Washington,  were  organized 
in  connection  with  the  Presbytery  previous  to  1837. 

Although  the  city  of  Washington  was  founded  and 
the  corner-stone  of  the  Capitol  laid  in  1793,  it  was  not 
till  1800  that  it  became  the  seat  of  government;  and 
it  was  three  years  later  before  a  successful  effort  was 
made  to  establish  here  a  Presbyterian  church. 

The  enterprise,  in  the  form  which  it  assumed,  was 
due  to  the  forethought  of  Dr.  John  M.  Mason,  of  New 
York.  On  his  visit  to  Scotland  in  1802,  he  induced 
several  young  clergymen  to  accompany  him  on  his 
return  to  this  country,  to  seek  in  the  new  settlements 
fields  of  missionary  labor.^  One  of  these  young  men 
was  James  Laurie,  a  native  of  Edinburgh,  a  graduate 


1  Sprague,  iv,  314. 


18  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

of  Edinburgh  University,  and  a  licentiate  of  the  Asso 
elate  Presbytery  of  Edinburgh.  When  the  seat  of  the 
Federal  Government  was  removed  to  Washington,  it 
was  deemed  important  that  some  clergyman  of  high 
standing  and  character  should  be  located  there;  and 
Mr.  Laui'ie  was  the  person  whom  Dr.  Mason  designated 
for  the  field.  In  March,  1803,  Mr.  Laurie,  who  had 
been  in  this  country  but  a  few  months,  at  the  request 
of  several  gentlemen — among  them  the  late  venerable 
Joseph  Nourse — visited  Washington,  with  the  view  of 
endeavoring  to  gather  there  an  Associate  Reformed 
congregation.  The  city  at  that  time  existed  only  on 
paper  and  in  the  landmarks  of  the  surveyor.  It  is  said 
that  Mr.  Laurie,  on  what  he  suppo&ed  his  way  thither, 
inquired  of  the  stage-driver  how  far  it  was  to  the  city, 
and  received  for  reply,  "  Sir,  we  have  been  driving 
through  it  for  the  last  two  miles." 

A  congregation  was  soon  gathered,  and  in  Jun* 
1803,  he  was  installed  as  pastor.  For  several  years  J" 
preached  in  the  old  Treasury  building  burned  by  tlr.v 
British  in  1814.  Meanwhile,  he  was  exerting  himself 
to  collect  funds  for  the  erection  of  a  church-edifice. 
After  travelling  as  far  north  as  Boston  and  as  far  south 
as  Savannah,  securing  such  aid  as  he  could,  he  had  at 
length  the  satisfaction  of  seeing,  early  in  1807,  a  sub- 
stantial and,  for  that  day,  elegant  brick  edifice  opened 
for  public  worship.  It  is  now  known  as  the  F  Street 
Church ;  and  it  was  the  first  place  of  Protestant  wor- 
ship erected  in  the  national  capital.  In  that  building 
Mr.  Laurie  was  spared  to  officiate  for  forty-six  years. 
In  1822,  in  common  with  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
Associated  Reformed  Church  in  this  country,  his  eccle- 
siastical relations  and  those  of  his  church  were  trans- 
ferred so  as  to  bring  him  into  connection  with  the 
churches  under  the  care  of  the  General  Assembly. 
The  history  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church  of 


MARYLAND    AND    VIRGINIA,    lSOO-1820.  19 

the  city — known  as  the  Fh'st,  because  the  first  in  con- 
nection with  the  General  Assembly — dates  from  1809. 
In  May  of  that  year,  the  General  Assembly'  authorized 
the  Presbytery  of  Baltimore  to  employ  a  missionary  at 
Bladensburg,  and  "in  the  city  of  Washington,  near  the 
navy-yard,  to  be  compensated  for  not  more  than  three 
months."  In  the  following  year  they  were  authorized 
to  employ  one  "  in  the  city  of  Washington  and  at 
Bladensburg  for  six  months."  In  1811,  John  Bracken- 
ridge  was  appointed  a  missionary  for  three  months  in 
this  field}  and  from  this  period  he  continued  for  several 
years  in  charge  of  the  newly-organized  church,  leaving 
it,  however,  previous  to  1819,  and  taking  subsequently 
the  pastoral  charge  of  Bladensburg.^ 

After  his  withdrawal,  Eeuben  Post,'  a  licentiate  of 
Baltimore  Presbytery  in  1819,  became  the  pastor  of 
the  church.  This  relation  he  continued  to  sustain  for 
about  twenty  years;  and  his  successors  have  been 
Charles  Eich,  William  T.  Sprole,  and  Byron  Sunder- 
land. 

In  1820-21,  it  was  felt  by  quite  a  number  of  in- 
dividuals that  there  was  a  call  for  the  organization  of 

1  Minutes  of  Assembly 

2  From  the  Assembly's  minutes,  it  appears  that  Mr.  Brackenridge 
was  a  licentiate  of  Baltimore  Presbytery  in  1795,  and  that  he  soon 
after  resided  in  Washington,  which  is  reported  in  1798  as  his  charge 
He  probably  supplied  a  congregation  here  for  several  years  in  con- 
nection with  one  at  Bladensburg,  although  from  1801  to  1809  he  is 
reported  without  charge.  After  1801,  Washington  is  reported  unable 
to  support  a  pastor.  The  organization  of  Dr.  Laurie's  church  doubt- 
less led  to  the  abandonment  for  a  time  of  the  original  enterprise. 

*  Reuben  Post  was  a  native  of  Vermont,  and  a  graduate  of  Mid- 
dlebury  College  and  Princeton  Seminary.  He  was  ordained  over 
the  First  Presbyterian  Church  in  Washington  in  1819.  Here  he 
remained  till  his  removal  to  the  pastorate  of  the  Circular  Church, 
Charleston,  1836,  where  he  labored  till  his  death,  September  24, 
1858.     He  was  zealous  and  faithful  in  the  discbarge  of  his  duty. 


20  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTER lANISM. 

another  Presbyterian  church.  Proceeding  immediately 
to  the  erection  of  a  house  of  worship  (near  the  Presi- 
dential mansion),  the  congregation  met  from  Sabbath 
to  Sabbath  in  the  navy  building,  and  invited  Daniel 
Baker  to  supply  the  pulpit.  He  did  so  for  a  short  time, 
and  was  subsequently  elected  pastor.^  Declining  a  call 
to  Savannah  in  the  church  made  vacant  by  the  death 
of  Dr.  KoUock,  Mr.  Baker  entered  upon  his  labors  at 
Washington.  The  church,  numbered  but  thirty-nine 
members,  and  his  salary  was  only  six  hundred  dollars. 
A  clerkship  in  the  Land-Office,  with  a  salary  of  eight 
hundred  dollars,  was  secured  for  him;  and  thus,  under 
burdensome  exactions,  he  was  enabled  to  sustain  him- 
self in  his  position.  In  the  spring  of  1828  he  resigned 
his  charge, — the  number  of  the  communicants  having 
increased  to  one  hundred  and  forty-two. 

His  successors  in  the  pastorate  were  John  N.  Camp- 
bell and  E.  D.  Smith.  After  the  resignation  of  the 
former,  an  attempt  was  made  to  recall  Mr.  Baker,  but 
in  vain.  The  church  continued  feeble,  and  after  the 
resignation  of  Mr.  Smith  in  1836  the  membership  had 
fallen  to  ninety-seven. 

The  Fourth  Presbyterian  Church  of  Washington — 
the  F  Street  Church,  by  its  uniting  with  the  Presby- 
tery, taking  the  place  of  the  Third — was  organized  in 
1827-28,  and  in  1829  its  membership — thirtj^-six  in  the 
preceding  year — had  been  doubled.  Shortly  after  this, 
Joshua  N.  Danforth  became  stated  supply,  but  after 
one  or  two  years  was  succeeded  b}*  Mason  Noble,  who 
in  1832-33  became  the  pastor  of  the  church.  His  suc- 
cessor, after  his  removal  to  Ncav  York,  was  John  C. 
Smith. 

Of  those  pastors  who  have  labored  in  the  field  which 
at  the  commencement  of  the  century  was  occupied  by 


1  Life  of  Rev.  D.  Baker. 


MARYLAND    ANI)    VIRGINIA,    lSOO-1820.  21 

Baltimore  Presbytery  and  who  have  been  caDed  to 
their  reward,  there  are  not  a  few  well  entitled  to  com- 
mand the  respect  and  affection  of  the  Church.  Inglis, 
Glendj',  I^evins,  and  J.  Breckenridge,  of  Baltimore, 
Laurie,  Baker,  and  Post,  of  Washington,  Walton,  of 
Baltimore  and  Alexandria,  Balch,  of  Georgetown, 
Muir  and  Harrison,  of  Alexandx-ia,  are  the  principal 
names  which  arrest  our  attention.  Some  of  these  have 
been  briefly  noticed  already,  or  will  be  spoken  of  in 
another  connection.  Muir,  Inglis,  Glendy,  and  Balch 
for  the  first  twenty  years  of  the  century  were  the  lead- 
ing men  in  this  Presbytery. 

At  Alexandria,  James  Muir  had  been  pastor  of  the 
Presbj-terian  church  since  1789.  He  was  a  native  of 
Scotland,  a  graduate  of  Glasgow  University,  and  was 
licensed  by  the  Scotch  Presbytery  in  London  in  1779.* 
Two  j^ears  later  he  was  ordained  as  an  evangelist  to 
Bermuda,  where  he  remained,  engaged  in  teaching  and 
preaching,  for  nearly  eight  years.  For  some  months 
after  his  arrival  in  this  country  he  preached  in  New 
York,  as  a  candidate  for  the  post  of  colleague  with  Dr. 
Eodgers;  but,  as  the  congregation  were  divided  be- 
tween him  and  (Dr.)  Jedediah  Morse,  both  withdrew, 
and  shortly  after  Mr.  Muir  was  called  to  Alexandria. 

A  severe  student,  systematic  in  the  discharge  of 
pastoral  duty,  deeply  impressed  with  the  momentous 
responsibility  of  his  charge,  he  might  have  sat  for 
Cowper's  well-drawn  portrait  of  a  "  preacher  like 
Paul."  A  United  States  Senator  described  him  as  "  a 
short  man,  of  short  sermons  and  short  sentences." 
This  was  strictly  true.  His  discourses  were  carefully 
and  elaborately  prepared,  and  every  thing  redundant 
was  expunged.  He  preached  with  his  manuscript  in 
his  pocket  and  his  sermon  in  his  memory,  while  from 


Sprague,  iii.  516. 


22  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

a  small  Bible  open  before  him  he  read  the  frequent 
passages  of  Scripture,  which  were  as  familiar  to  him 
as  the  alphabet.  Although  with  a  marked  Scotch  ac- 
cent, and  a  defect  in  his  utterance  which  interfered 
with  his  oratory,  his  discourses  were  clear,  logical,  con- 
cise, and  rich  with  divine  truth. 

In  March,  1818,  Elias  (now  Dr.)  Harrison  was  in- 
stalled over  the  church  as  co-pastor,  succeeding,  on  the 
death  of  Dr.  Muir  in  1820,  to  the  sole  pastorate,  which 
he  retained  till  a  recent  period. 

During  the  closing  period  of  Dr.  Muir's  ministry,  the 
church  was  sadly  divided, — although  the  character  of 
Dr.  Muir  for  gentleness  and  Christian  forbearance  could 
not  be  called  in  question. 

The  occasion  of  this  exciting  state  of  things  was  the 
necessity  of  calling  a  colleague  pastor  with  Dr.  Muir.' 
Two  candidates  were  before  the  congregation, — one, 
Daniel  Baker,  of  revival  memory,  and  the  other,  Elias 
Harrison.  The  vote  stood  for  the  latter  forty-five,  for 
the  foi-mer  eighty-six;  but  Mr.  Baker,  feeling  satisfied 
that  Mr.  Harrison  was  preferred  to  himself  by  Dr.  Muir, 
respectfully  declined  the  call,  and  Mr.  Harrison  was 
elected. 

But  a  division  and  alienation  of  feeling  had  been  oc- 
casioned which  could  not  readily  be  healed.  Three 
eldei's  out  of  five,  and  about  one-half  of  the  congrega- 
tion, withdrew,  in  order  to  organize  another  church. 
Of  this — the  Second  Church — Mr.  Baker  was  invited  to 
become  the  pastor.  Declining  the  invitation,  he  re- 
commended Wells  Andrews  in  his  stead.  Mr.  Andrews 
was  subsequently  (1817)*  settled,  and,  after  a  ministry 
of  about  ten  years,  Avas  succeeded  by  William  C.  Walton 

1  Life  of  Daniel  Baicer,  p.  102. 

2  Tbe  apparent  discrepancy  in  the  statements  of  the  text  is  re- 
solved by  the  fact  that  Dr.  Harrison  was  chosen  Dr.  Muir's  assistant 
a  year  before  he  was  settled  as  college  pastor. 


MARYLAND    AND    VIRGINIA,  1800-1820.  2o 

In  tbe  cii'cumslanees  of  the  case,  it  is  not  surprising 
that  the  new  church  sliould  prefer  to  stand  discon- 
nected with  the  old  (Baltimore)  Presbytery;  and,  con- 
sequently, until  the  formation  of  the  Presbytery  of  the 
District  of  Columbia,  it  was  under  the  care  of  AYio 
Chester  Presbytery. 

The  successor  of  Dr.  Allison  as  pastor  of  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Baltimore  was  Eev.  James 
Inglis.  He  was  of  Scotch  descent,  but  a  native  of 
Philadelphia,  and  a  graduate  of  Columbia  College,  N.Y. 
He  studied  law  under  the  celebrated  Alexander  Hamil- 
ton, and  for  a  time  was  in  practice  at  the  New  York 
bar.  While  thus  engaged,  his  mind  became  seriously 
impressed;  and,  abandoning  his  profession,  he  com- 
menced the  study  of  theology  under  the  Rev.  Dr.  Eod- 
gers,  of  New  York.  Soon  after  his  licensure  by  the 
Presbytery  of  New  York,  he  visited  Baltimore,  and  for 
eighteen  years  continued  his  labors  as  pastor  of  the 
First  Presbj^terian  Church.  Kind  and  affable  in  pri- 
vate intercourse,  with  a  ready  utterance,  ease  of  man- 
ner, and  elegance  of  style,  he  added  the  charms  of  the 
most  finished  oratory  to  the  attractions  of  his  personal 
character,  and  was  accounted,  by  competent  judges, 
one  of  the  most  eminent  lights  of  the  American  pulpit.' 
Yet  he  approached  nearer  the  type  of  the  Scottish 
Blair  than  the  American  Nevins,  who,  soon  after  his 
death,  was  called  to  succeed  him  as  pastor  of  the  church. 

A  rival  candidate  of  Inglis  at  the  time  of  his  settle- 
ment was  John  Glendy,  a  refugee  from  Ireland  in  the 
stormy  period  of  1798.  He  had  been  settled  for  some 
years  as  pastor  of  a  church  in  Londonderry;  but  his 

^  AVilliam  Wirt  says  (Life,  i.  339),  writing  from  Georgetown,  Oc- 
tober 14,  1814,  "Last  niglit  I  went  to  church,  and  heard  a  Mr. 
Inglis,  of  Baltimore,  deliver  what  I  should  call — not  a  sermon,  but — 
a  very  elegant  oration  in  a  theatrical  style.  The  composition  was 
rich,  but,  I  thought,  out  of  place, — his  manner  still  more  so." 


■24  IIISTOIIY    OF    l^RESBYTLKIAMSM. 

opposition  to  the  policy  pursued  by  the  British  Govern 
ment  toward  Ireland  rendered  him  obnoxious,  and  he 
was  forced  to  flee.  In  an  overcrowded  eraigrant-ship 
he  embarked  for  this  country,  and  landed  at  Norfolk, 
in  1799.  For  two  years  he  supplied  the  congregations 
of  Staunton  and  Bethel,  in  Augusta  county,  and,  on  a 
short  visit  to  Baltimore,  was  invited  to  preach  as  a 
candidate  in  the  pulpit  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church.  When  the  choice  of  the  congregation  had 
fallen  on  the  Rev.  Mr.  Inglis,  a  number  of  his  friends 
were  led  to  consider  the  project  of  organizing  another 
church,  in  connection  with  which  they  wished  to  secure 
his  services.  In  these  plans  they  were  successful;  and, 
in  1803,  Glendy  took  charge  of  the  Second  Presbyterian 
Church.  For  twenty-three  years  he  remained  sole 
pastor  of  the  congregation;  and  in  1826  the  Eev.  John 
Breckenridge  was  chosen  as  his  colleague.  Graceful 
in  the  pulpit,  with  distinct  voice,  easy  utterance, 
vivacity  and  elegance  of  style,  he  was  to  the  last 
loved  and  admired  as  a  preacher.  Rarely  profound, 
never  very  logical,  he  was  clear  in  statement  and 
earnest  and  impressive  in  manner.  His  Irish  traits, 
Bome  of  which  often  betrayed  themselves  in  the  pulpit, 
made  him  most  popular  among  his  own  countrymen, 
who  were  numerous  in  Baltimore;  while  his  genial 
spirit  and  gentlemanly  bearing  out  of  the  pulpit,  as 
well  as  his  eloquence  in  it,  made  him  generally  accept- 
able and  admired.^ 

J  John  H.  Smaltz,  born  in  Philadelphia,  1793,  a  graduate  of  Rut- 
gers College,  was  called  in  1822  to  the  pastorate  of  the  Third 
Church  of  Baltimore.  He  was  subsequently  settled  at  German- 
town,  Pa.,  Frederick,  Md.,  Trenton,  N..J.,  Harrisburg,  Pa.,  spending 
his  closing  years  in  Philadelphia.  A  true  man,  a  faithful,  practical 
preacher,  industrious,  persevering,  retiring  and  domestic  in  hia 
habits,  and  with  a  heart  devoted  to  every  good  cause,  he  was  be- 
loved.     He  died  July  30,  1861. 


MARYLAND    AND    VIRGINIA,    1800-1820.  25 

The  revival  which  commenced  in  Kentucky  in  1800, 
and  which  was  powerfully  felt  in  the  Carolinas,  ex- 
tended to  the  Baltimore  and  neighboring  churches. 
But  up  to  this  period  the  oi'ganization  of  the  churches 
had  been  greatly  neglected.  In  1802,  means  were 
taken  to  remedy  this  defect  by  the  election  of  elders.^ 
But  "for  fifty  years  there  had  been  no  regular  Sessions 
in  most,  if  not  all,  of  the  churches  in  this  region." 

William  Nevins,  the  successor  (1820)  of  Dr.  Inglis 
in  the  pastorate  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of 
Baltimore,  was  a  native  of  Norwich,  Conn.,  a  graduate 
of  Yale  College  in  1816,  and  of  Princeton  Theological 
Seminary  in  1819.  Quick  of  apprehension,  thirsting 
for  knowledge,  of  great  natural  vivacity,  and  with  an 
irrepressible  fondness  for  the  ludicrous,  his  early  years 
gave  but  little  promise  of  the  serious  aims  to  which  his 
life  was  to  be  devoted.  Even  in  the  seminary,  in  the 
weekly  discussions  of  the  theological  society,  his  rising 
to  speak  was  the  signal  to  a  large  part  of  his  audience 
to  prepare  for  a  hearty  laugh.  But  under  the  effer- 
vescence of  mirth,  wit,  and  good-natured  sarcasm  was 
concealed  a  depth  of  warm  devotion  which  constituted 
the  real  current  of  his  life.  One  who  had  heard  him 
pray  could  not  but  feel  that,  in  spite  of  seeming  levity, 
he  had  a  heart  not  unused  to  self-communion  and  godly 
sorrow- 

His  first  project  on  entering  the  ministry  had  been 
a  mission  to  South  America.  Satisfied,  however,  that 
the  time  was  not  ripe  for  it,  he  travelled  southward, 
and,  in  Eichmond,  made  the  wretched  inmates  of  the 
penitentiary  the  objects  of  his  evangelical  effort.  Called 
to  Baltimore,  he  entered  upon  an  arduous  field.  Its 
difficulties  were  aggravated  by  his  resolve  to  innovate 
on  the  old  usage  of  the  Church  which  approved  the 


1  Pres,  Mag.,  March,  1858,  p.  135. 
Vol.  II.— 3 


26  HISTORY   or   PRESBYTERIANISM. 

baptism  of  infants  whether  their  parents  were  mem- 
bers of  the  Church  or  not.  He  maintained  his  ground  j 
and,  after  some  years,  his  labors  were  rewarded  by 
witnessing  a  powerful  and  genuine  revival  of  religion 
in  his  congregation 

Meanwhile,  there  had  been  a  marked  change  in  the 
tone  of  his  pulpit-ministrations.  His  earliest  efforts 
had  been  characterized  by  an  exuberance  of  beautiful 
imagery  which  excited  the  hearer's  admiration,  and 
frequently,  also,  the  apprehensions  of  the  more  serious 
and  judicious.  But  a  few  years'  experience  effectually 
pruned  the  luxuriance  of  his  rhetoric.  His  preaching 
became  direct,  pungent,  and  thrilling  in  its  appeals. 
The  earnestness  of  his  convictions  was  felt  where  the 
affluence  of  his  imagination  had  been  once  admii-ed. 
Original  as  a  thinker,  perspicuous,  concise,  and  striking 
as  a  writer,  giving  even  to  common  thoughts  a  cast 
peculiarly  his  own,  he  soon  rose  to  merited  distinction; 
and  his  productions  have  won  a  permanent  place  in 
the  religious  literature  of  the  land.  Genial  as  a  friend, 
faithful  as  a  pastor,  and  attractive  and  impressive  as 
a  preacher,  his  untimely  death  at  the  age  of  thirty- 
eight  years  (1835)  was  the  occasion  not  only  of  grief 
to  his  own  congregation,  but  of  wide-spread  sorrow 
throughout  the  land. 

In  Virginia  the  progress  of  the  Church  for  the  first 
twenty  years  of  the  century  was  by  no  means  rapid; 
and  yet  its  increase  was,  proportionately,  in  advance 
of  that  of  the  population  of  the  State.  The  latter 
amounted  to  but  twenty  j^er  ce^t,  while  the  former  was 
at  least  forty .^ 

The  congregations,  indeed,  had  not  largely  increased 
in  number, — amounting  in  1819  to  only  seventy,  in  place 

1  The  estimate,  in  the  lack  of  reports  for  1800  and  1820,  is  made 
from  those  of  1799  and  1819,  while  the  Presbytery  of  Abingdon,  a 
portion  of  which  was  within  the  bounds  of  Tennessee,  is  omitted. 


MARYLAND   AND   VIRGINIA,   1800-1820.  27 

of  the  sixtj^-three  of  1799.  But  the  three  Presbyteries, 
which  jointly  numbered  in  1799  twenty -three  members, 
of  whom  seventeen  were  pastors,  had  on  their  rolls  in 
1819  a  membership  of  forty-three,  of  whom  thirty-three 
were  pastors.  In  place  of  twenty-eight  congregations 
supplied  at  the  earlier  date,  fifty  were  supplied  at  the 
latter,  and,  while  iu  1799  thirty-five  congregations  were 
vacant,  only  twenty  were  unsupplied  in  1819. 

In  1799,  the  Presbyteries  of  Hanover  and  Lexington 
numbered  each  nine  ordained  ministers.  In  Hanover 
Presbytery  were  James  Waddel,  William  Irvine,  and 
Archibald  McRoberts,  without  charge ;  James  Mitchel 
and  James  Turner,  colleague  pastors  of  the  congrega- 
tions of  Bethel,  Salem,  and  Pisgah ;  John  D.  Blair, 
pastor  of  Hanover  and  Henrico;  Drury  Lacy,  of  Cum- 
berland ;  Archibald  Alexander,  of  Briery  ;  and  Matthew 
Lyle,  in  conjunction  with  Alexander,  of  Briery  and 
Buffalo.  In  Lexington  Presbytery  were  William 
Graham,  Benjamin  Erwin,  and  John  Montgomery, 
without  charge ;  Archibald  Scott,  pastor  of  Bethel  and 
Brown's  Meeting-House;  William  Wilson,  of  Augusta; 
John  McCue,  of  Staunton  and  Tinkling  Spring; 
Samuel  Houston,  of  Falling  Water  and  High  Bridge ; 
Benjamin  Grrigsby,  of  Lewisburg  and  Concord;  and 
Samuel  Brown,  of  New  Providence. 

The  Presbytery  of  Winchester,  erected  in  1794,  had 
in  1799  five  ordained  ministers, — Moses  Hoge,  of 
Shepherdstown ;  Nash  Le  Grand,  of  Cedar  Creek  and 
Opekon;  William  Hill,  of  Charlestown  and  Hopewell; 
John  Lyle,  of  Frankfort,  Romney,  and  Springfield  ;  and 
William  Williamson,  of  South  River  and  Flint  Run. 

In  the  twenty  years  that  followed,  the  changes  that 
took  place  left  but  nine  of  these  twenty -three  ministers 
on  the  field,  and  of  these  some  were  transferred  to 
other  settlements.  Mitchel  Turner,  Blair,  and  Lyle 
(1819)  retained  their  former  posts  in  Hanover  Pres- 


28  HISTORY    OF   PRESBYTERIANISM 

bytery.  In  Lexington,  Samuel  Houston  was  still  al 
Falling  Spring  and  High  Bridge,  where  he  reniaineu 
till  disabled  by  age,  a  few  years  before  his  death  in 
1839.  William  Wilson  was  without  charge,  and,  ic 
1813,  Conrad  Speeee  was  settled  as  his  successor  in 
Augusta;  while  in  Winchester  Presbyteiy  William 
Hill  was  at  Winchester,  and  William  Williamson  at 
Middleburg.  Beside  these,  Moses  Hoge,  called  from 
Shepherdstown  in  1807  to  succeed  Archibald  Alexander 
as  President  of  Hampden-Sidney  College,  was  a  mem- 
ber of  Hanover  Presbytery,  but  died  July  5,  1820. 

All  the  other  ministei'S  of  1799  had  died,  or  removed 
to  other  fields.  James  Waddel  died  September,  1805. 
Irvine  had  ceased  to  preach  some  years  before  his 
death.  Drury  Lacy,  from  1789  to  1796  President  of 
Hampden-Sidney  College,  and  subsequently  teacher 
of  a  classical  school  in  the  vicinity,  died  Dec.  6,  1815. 
Archibald  Alexander,  called  to  the  Pine  Street  Church, 
Philadelphia,  in  1806,  had  left  this  field  also,  to  enter 
upon  his  charge  as  the  first  theological  professor  of 
Princeton  Seminary  (Aug.  12,  1812).  William  Graham 
died  before  the  close  (June)  of  1799.  Benjamin  Erwin 
had  been  succeeded  at  Mossy  Creek  and  Cook's  Creek 
by  Andrew  B.  Davidson,  who  had  charge  of  Harrison- 
burg also,  and  previous  to  1819  b}'-  John  Hendren, 
Harrisonburg  becoming  in  1818  the  charge  of  Daniel 
Baker.  John  Montgomery  died  previous  to  1814. 
Archibald  Scott  died  in  1799,  and  was  succeeded  in 
Bethel  congregation  by  William  McPheeters  (1805-10) 
and  Kobert  H.  Chapman  (1817-23).  John  McCue  died 
Sept.  20,  1818,  and,  some  j^ears  later,  was  succeeded 
at  Tinkling  Spring  by  James  C.  Willson,  whose  pas- 
torate continued  till  his  death,  in  1840.  John  McEl- 
henuy  succeeded  Benjamin  Grigsby  at  Lewisburg, 
which  had  long  been  vacant,  previous  to  1819,  while  a 
union  congregation  formed  part  of  his  charge.    Samuel 


MARYLAND   AND    VIRGINIA,    1800-1820.  29 

Brown,  of  New  Pi-ovidence,  died  Oct.  13,  1818,  and 
was  succeeded  a  few  months  later  by  James  Morrison. 

In  Winchester  Presbytery,  Nash  Le  Gfrand  died  in 
October,  1814,  having  left  his  charge,  which  still  (1819) 
remained  vacant,  several  years  previous.  In  1800,  Wil- 
liam Hill  commenced  his  prolonged  pastorate  at  Win- 
chester. John  Lyle  was  called  from  a  sphere  of  great 
usefulness  by  death,  in  1807,  and  his  congregations, 
Springfield,  Eomney,  and  Frankfort,  were  left  vacant 
for  several  j'ears;  though  he  was  at  length  succeeded 
by  James  Black. 

Meanwhile,  the  places  of  those  who  had  died  or  re- 
moved had  been  supplied  by  others.  James  Kobinson, 
before  1803,  was  settled  at  Cove  and  Eockfish,  where  he 
still  remained.  John  H.  Eice  had  been  settled  for  some 
years  at  Cub  Creek,  where  he  was  succeeded,  on  his 
removal  to  Eichmond  in  1812,  by  Clement  Eead.  Ben- 
jamin H.  Eice  at  about  the  same  time  (1812)  commenced 
his  labors  at  Petersburg.  Joseph  D.  Logan  was  soon 
after  settled  at  Bird  and  Providence,  and  previous  to 
1819,  William  S.  Eeid  was  at  Lynchburg,  John  D.  Porter 
at  Norfolk,  John  McLean  at  Concord  and  Hat  Creek, 
and  Alexander  McCowan  at  Blue  Stone. 

In  Lexington  Presbj'terj-,  George  A.  Baxter  succeeded 
William  Graham,  upon  his  death  in  1799,  as  Principal 
of  Liberty  Hall,  taking  charge  also  of  the  congregations 
of  Lexington  and  New  Monmouth,  remaining  in  this 
post  for  about  thirty  years.  Joseph  Eeid  had  been 
settled  at  Lebanon  and  Wind}^  Cove,  where  he  was  suc- 
ceeded previous  to  1814  by  John  D.  Ervin.  Samuel 
McNutt  had  charge  of  New  Dublin  congregation ; 
William  Calhoon  had  been  settled  for  nearly  the  whole 
period  at  Staunton  and  Brown's  Meeting-House ;  while 
of  the  other  members  of  the  Presbytery, — as  alreadj' 
mentioned, — Houston  was  at  Falling  Spring,  Chapman 
at  Bethel,  Speece  at  Augusta,  McElhenny  at  Lewisburg, 


30  HISTOBY    OP    I'RESBYTERIANISM. 

Hendreii  at  Mossy  Creek,  Morrison  at  New  Providence 
and  Baker  at  Harrisonburg  and  New  Erection. 

In  Winchester  Presbytery,  Dr.  William  Hill  was  (1819) 
at  Winchester,  William  Williamson  at  Middleburg,  John 
Matthews  at  Shepherdstown,  where  he  had  succeeded 
Dr.  Hoge,  called  in  1807  to  the  Presidency  of  Hampden- 
Sidney,  John  Mines  at  Leesbui'g,  S.  B.  AVilson  at  Prede- 
ricksburg,  James  Black  at  Mt.  Bethel,  John  B.  Hoge 
at  Tuscarora  and  Palling  Waters,  where  he  remained 
from  his  settlement,  Oct.  12,  1811,  till  called  to  Eich- 
mond  in  1822,  Samuel  D.  Hoge  at  Culpepper  and  Madi- 
son from  his  ordination  in  1816  till  his  removal  to  Ohio 
in  1821,  Wells  Andrews  at  Alexandria,  over  the  Second 
Church,  and  W.  C.  Walton  at  Hopewell. 

In  Lexington  Presbytery,  William  Wilson,  Eobert 
Logan,  Andrew  B.  Davidson,  Eobert  H.  Anderson,  and 
Henry  Buffner  were  without  charge ;  while  thirteen  con- 
gregations were  reported  vacant.  In  Winchester  Pres- 
bytery, Joseph  Glass,  Andrew  A.  Shannon,  and  William 
N.  Scott  were  without  charge ;  while  only  Middletown, 
Cedar  Creek,  and  Opekon  were  reported  vacant.  In 
Hanover  Presbytery  there  were  nine  vacancies;  but  the 
Presbytery  had  under  its  care  nine  licentiates. 

The  more  important  of  the  newly-organized  congre- 
gations were  those  of  Eichmond,  Petersburg,  Frede- 
ricksburg, Leesburg,  Lynchburg,  and  Norfolk.  Win- 
chester, perhaps,  should  be  mentioned  in  the  same 
connection ;  for  though  the  congregation  had  formed  a 
part  of  the  same  pastoral  chai'ge  with  Cedar  Creek  and 
Opekon  for  several  preceding  years,  there  had  been 
difficulty  in  supplying  it,  and  at  length,  in  1800,  William 
Hill  was  called  to  the  pastoral  charge.  Under  his  labors, 
protracted  here  for  nearly  a  third  of  a  century,  it  became 
a  large  and  prosperous  church. 

At  Eichmond  there  were  a  few  scattered  Presbyterians 
previous  to  the  time  when  the  attention  of  Dr.  Eice  was 


MARYLAND   AND    VIRGINIA,  1800-1820,  31 

Called  to  the  place.  John  D.  Blair,  of  Henrico  and  Hano- 
ver, preached  alternately  with  an  Episcopal  clergyman 
in  the  Capitol,  each  occupying  it  every  other  Sabbath. 
But  the  whole  city  was  thrilled  by  the  tragic  event  of 
the  burning  of  the  theatre,  in  which  so  many  lives — 
embracing  largely  the  flower  and  pride  of  the  State — 
were  lost,  in  December,  1811.  A  deep  gloom  pervaded 
the  entire  community,  and,  as  if  by  a  common  impulse, 
a  large  number  of  the  inhabitants  of  Capitol  Hill  were 
brought  to  the  resolution  of  erecting-  a  monumental 
church  on  the  site  of  the  late  theatre.^  In  this  enter- 
prise, all  the  families,  as  well  Presbyterian  as  Episcopal, 
who  had  been  accustomed  up  to  this  time  to  worship  in 
the  Capitol,  enlisted,  without,  as  it  would  seem,  any  very 
definite  understanding  as  to  the  ultimate  destination  of 
the  edifice.  Yet  after  its  completion  it  was  thought 
best  that  its  use  should  be  confined  to  a  single  denomi- 
nation ;  and,  as  the  Episcopal  poi'tion  was  in  the  majority, 
the  exclusive  use  of  the  structure  passed  into  their 
hands. 

But  the  friends  of  John  D.  Blair, — a  successor  of 
Samuel  Davies  at  Pole  Green,  in  Hanover,  and  an  alter- 
nate supply  with  the  Episcopal  clergyman  at  the  Capitol 
during  the  preceding  period,  while  engaged  as  a  teacher 
at  Richmond, — animated  by  a  more  liberal  and  energetic 
spirit  than  before,  proceeded  to  erect  a  handsome  church- 
edifice  for  themselves  on  Shockoe  Hill.  Here  Mr.  Blair 
ofiiciated  until  his  death,  in  1823.  His  successor  was 
John  Blair  Hoge. 

At  nearly  the  same  time,  Dr.  John  H.  Eice  commenced 
his  labors  at  Eichmond.  For  several  years  he  had  been 
settled  at  Cub  Creek,  and  had  at  the  same  time  dis- 
charged the  duties  of  a  tutor  at  Hampden-Sidney.  At 
a  meeting  of  Presbytery  at  Eed  Oak  Church,  on  March 


^  Spragiie,  iii.  460. 


32  HISTORY   or   PRESBYTERIANISM. 

12, 1812,  "a  call  from  a  number  of  persons  in  Kichmond 
and  its  vicinity  attached  to  the  Presbyterian  Church" 
was  presented  to  him,  which  he  saw  fit  to  accept,  and 
on  the  second  Sabbath  in  May  he  preached  his  first  dis- 
course to  his  new  charge  in  Mason's  Hall,  Eichmond. 
On  the  17th  of  October  he  was  installed  pastor,  retain- 
ing the  ofiice  until  June,  1823,  soon  after  which  he  was 
succeeded  by  William  J.  Armstrong. 

It  was  in  December,  1812,  that  Benjamin  H.  Rice,  a 
younger  brother  of  John  H.  Eice,  commenced  his  labors 
in  Petersburg,  then  one  of  the  most  unpromising  and 
difficult  fields  of  labor  which  could  have  been  selected. 
In  a  population  of  eight  thousand,  there  were  two,  and 
only  two,  Presbyterians.^  But  the  zeal  of  the  youthful 
preacher,  fresh  from  a  missionary  journey  along  the  sea- 
board counties  of  North  Carolina,  was  not  to  be  daunted 
by  difficulty.  At  first  he  preached  in  an  unfinished 
storehouse.  He  soon  succeeded  in  organizing  a  church 
of  about  twenty  members,  of  which  he  was  installed 
pastor  in  the  spring  of  1814.  Here,  in  the  discharge 
of  the  duties  of  an  eminently  successful  ministry,  he 
remained  for  the  space  of  seventeen  years,  resigning 
his  charge  to  accept  the  pastorate  of  the  Pearl  Street 
Church,  New  York  (1829).  He  became,  three  years 
later,  Associate  Secretary  of  the  Home  Missionary  So- 
ciety, but  in  1833  accepted  a  call  to  Princeton,  New 
Jersey,  where  his  pastorate  continued  till  1847.  His 
closing  years  (1847-56)  were  devoted  to  the  pastoral 
charge  of  the  Hampden-Sidney  College  Church.  His 
successor  at  Petersburg  was  E.  C.  Hutchinson. 

At  Leesburg,  John  Mines,  a  licentiate  of  Winchester 
Presbytery  in  1803,  commenced  his  labors  previous  to 
1808,  when  he  was  reported  pastor  of  the  church.  His 
ministry  here  continued  for  at  least  ten  or  twelve  years. 

1  Obituary  Sermon  by  W.  E.  Schenk.     Life  of  Dr.  J.  H.  Rice. 


MARYLAND    4.ND    VIRGINIA,    1800-1S20.  33 

The  church  at  Lynchburg  dates  from  1815,  In  1808, 
William  S.  Reid  commenced  his  labors  here,  opening  a 
school  for  his  own  support,  and  at  the  same  time  en- 
deavoring to  establish,  by  regular  Sabbath  services  which 
he  performed,  a  Presbyterian  church.  It  was  seven 
3'ears  before  an  organization  was  effected,  and  seven 
more  before  he  was  installed  pastor  of  the  church. 
But  during  his  pastorate,  which  continued  till  1848,  the 
church  increased  in  numbers,  strength,  and  efficiency, 
until  it  became  "  one  of  the  most  harmonious  and  well- 
disciplined  bodies  of  Chi'istians  in  the  State. "^ 

The  church  of  Norfolk  was  gathered  as  a  congre- 
gation probably  about  1801.  In  1803  the  Commit- 
tee of  Missions  were  vested  with  discretionary  power 
to  send  a  missionary  to  the  place.''  Shortly  after  this, 
Rev.  Mr.  Grrigsby  was  in  charge  of  the  church  (1806), 
his  death  occurring  Oct.  6,  1810.  In  1812,  John  D. 
Paxton  was  ordained  at  the  request  of  the  church,  and 
subsequently  settled.  His  labors  with  the  church  closed 
previous  to  1825,  when  Shepard  K.  Kollock,  who  had 
been  for  several  years  a  professor  in  the  University  of 
North  Carolina,  became  stated  supply,  and  was  soon 
after  settled  as  pastor.  In  1829,  the  membership  of  the 
church  had  risen  to  a  little  over  two  hundred. 

The  church  in  Fredericksburg  is  first  reported  in  the 

1  Sprague,  iv.  388.  The  Second  Presbyterian  Church  of  Lynch- 
burg was  organized  with  twenty-four  members,  all  but  three  from 
the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  May  19,  1830.  A  n.ew  and  enlarged 
house  of  worship  was  erected  in  1852.  The  pastors  have  been  D.  L. 
Russell,  1830,  J.  D.  Mitchell,  1830-35,  J.  L.  Kirkpatrick,  1837-41, 
E.  M.  Cumpston,  1841-46,  E.  J.  Newlin,  1847-52,  and  J.  D.  Mitchell, 
1852. — Freshi/terion  Almanac,  1860. 

2  Assembly's  Minutes,  1803.  A  Methodist  church  was  gathered 
here  as  early  as  1772.  A  powerful  revival  under  the  charge  of 
Methodists  prevailed  at  Norfolk  and  Portsmouth  in  1802. — Bangs's 
Methodism.  In  1810,  Mr.  Grigsby  wanted  a  missionary  to  assist  him 
iu  the  neighboring  region. — Memoir  of  John  H.  .Uice. 


34  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTEUIANISM. 

minutes  for  1809.  At  that  time  Samuel  B.  Wilson  ^  wa? 
pastor,  and  here  he  remained  for  more  than  thirty  years 
The  church  had  in  1825  a  membership  of  one  hundred 
and  eig-hty.  The  successor  of  Dr.  Wilson  was  George 
Wilson  McPhail. 

With  such  institutions  under  their  patronage  as 
Hampden-Sidney  College  and  Liberty  Hall,  afterward 
Washington  College,  the  Synod  of  Virginia — after  the 
revivals  of  1787-89 — had  been  enabled  largely  to  supply 
their  own  destitutions ;  and  among  the  ministers  they 
sent  forth  into  the  field  were  some  of  the  ablest  and 
most  effective  within  the  bounds  of  the  Cliurch.  It  was 
natural,  therefore,  that  the  Presbyterians  of  Virginia 
should  prefer  to  educate  their  own  ministry  within  the 
bounds  of  the  Synod.  In  the  Assembly  of  1809,  when 
the  subject  of  education  for  the  ministry  had  been  dis- 
cussed, it  was  resolved  to  submit  to  the  Presbyteries 
the  three  plans  which  had  been  suggested  with  reference 
to  the  establishment  of  seminaries.  In  the  following 
year,  a  divided  answer  was  returned,  but  the  Presby- 
terians of  Virginia  determined  in  favor  of  Sy nodical 
seminaries.  The  Assembly,  while  adopting  the  policy 
of  a  single  central  institution,  stated  most  explicitly 
that  every  Presb3^ter3'  and  Synod  would,  "  of  course, 
be  left  at  full  liberty  to  countenance  the  proposed  plan, 
or  not,  at  pleasure,  and  to  send  their  students  to  the 
projected  seminary  or  keep  them  as  heretofore  within 
their  own  bounds,  as  they  think  most  conducive  to  the 
prosperity  of  the  Church."* 

In  1812,  therefore,  the  Synod  of  Virginia  resolved  to 
establish  a  Theological  Seminary  within  their  bounds, 
and  unanimously  appointed  Dr.  Moses  Iloge  as  pro- 
fessor.    For  the  five  preceding  years  he  had  occupied 

1  Since  professor  in  Union  Theological  Seminary,  Va. 
^Assembb'  Minutes,  1810. 


MARYLAND    AND    VIRGINIA,    1800-1820.  dO 

the  post  of  President  of  Hampden-Sidney  College,  as 
the  siiccessoi'  of  Di'.  Alexander,  who  in  1807  commenced 
his  pastorate  in  Philadelpliia.  His  acknowledged  ability, 
his  successful  ministry  at  Shepherdstown,  and  the  posi- 
tion which  he  so  admirably  filled  as  President  of  Hamp- 
den-Sidnej',  designated  him  as  the  fittest  man  for  the 
responsible  post;  and,  till  his  constitution  began  to  give 
way  under  his  multiplied  and  onerous  labors  (1819),  he 
discharged  the  duties  of  President,  and  at  the  same  time 
those  of  Professor  of  Divinity  under  the  appointment 
of  the  Synod. ^ 

AVith  little  that  was  prepossessing  in  person  or  manner, 
and  ungraceful,  if  not  uncouth,  in  his  appearance  in  the 
pulpit,  he  was  a  man  of  thorough  scholars))  ip,  profoundly 
read  in  theology,  with  great  depth  and  originality  of 
thought,  affluence  of  illustration,  and  cogency  of  argu- 
ment. As  a  teacher,  he  had  not  only  great  patience, 
but  great  skill.  In  unravelling  diificulties,  and  exhibit- 
ing the  harmony  of  the  Christian  system,  he  was  per- 
hajjs  unsurpassed.  But  he  was  as  eminen.t  for  his  piety 
as  his  learning,  and  his  rare  intellectual  vigor  was 
unreservedly  devoted  to  his  Master's  cause.  He  was 
spared  to  see  thirty  of  his  pupils  at  Hampden-Sidney 
licensed  and  ordained  ministers.  In  spite  of  his  manner, 
John  Eandolph  pronounced  him  "  the  most  eloquent 
man  in  Virginia."^ 

His  successor — after  tlie  operations  of  the  seminary 
had  been  for  some  time  suspended  in  consequence  of 
his  sickness  and  death — was  John  Holt  Eice,  who  for 
more  than  ten  years  had  been  pastor  of  the  church  in 
Richmond.  The  state  of  the  seminary  at  the  time  was 
such  that  an  effort  to  increase  its  funds  seemed  abso- 
lutely necessary,-''  and  Dr.  Rice  immediately  devoted 
himself  to  the  task.     Shortly  after  resigning  his  pas- 

1  Sprague,  iii.  429.  2  j^,  jv.  450.  3  lb.  iv.  829. 


36  HISTORY    OP   PRESBYTERIANISM. 

toral  charge  in  June,  1823,  he  took  a  journey  to  the 
North,  extending  his  applications  for  aid  to  the  churches 
in  New  England,  and  cveiy  where  met  a  cordial  welcome 
both  for  himself  and  his  object.  Few  men,  indeed,  pos- 
sessed in  an  equal  measure  the  graces  and  loveliness  of 
the  Christian  character.  "Tall,  bony,  and  ungraceful" 
in  person,  with  a  countenance  exceedingly  grave  in 
repose,  yet  occasionally  breaking  out  into  a  jocund 
radiance  and  benignity  altogether  indescribable,  with 
gestures  confined,  but  under  excitement  powerful,  and 
with  a  voice  which,  though  strong,  was  unmusical,  he 
owed  nothing  to  the  mere  graces  of  oratory.  Yet  there 
were  occasions  when  he  was  unquestionably  eloquent, 
— when,  kindling  as  he  advanced,  his  reluctant  frame 
seemed  informed  by  an  unwonted  inspiration,  while  his 
whole  soul  glowed  through  his  great,  speaking  eye. 
But  his  power  resided  in  his  thought  and  in  his  feeling. 
He  was  at  once  argumentative  and  earnest.  Among: 
the  ministry  of  the  day  he  had  not,  perhaps,  his  superior 
in  the  mastery  of  sound,  free,  vigorous  English.  Yet 
his  ablest  discourses  were  the  product  of  the  hour.  If 
written  down  in  the  study,  they  were  not  allowed  to 
enslave  him  in  the  pulpit.  To  his  public  ministrj^  he 
brought  the  stores  of  an  unusually  varied  learning. 
From  his  childhood,  when  he  used  to  rise  from  his  bod 
to  read  Horace  by  the  light  of  the  blazing  pines  on  the 
hearth,  until  prostrated  by  his  last  illness,  he  was  an 
eager  devourer  of  books  of  various  kinds.  Yet  his 
knowledge  was  well  digested  and  ever  read}^  for  use. 

But  his  intellectual  eminence  was  crowned  by  his 
moral  qualities  and  his  Christian  graces.  His  piety  was 
deep  and  fervent,  and  none  could  be  more  devoted  to 
the  peace,  unity,  and  prosperity  of  the  Church.  In 
every  man  he  recognized  a  brother,  and  in  the  liberality 
of  his  views  he  overlooked  none  that  bore  the  Christian 
name.     Kind,  genial,  courteous,  hospitable,  he  exem- 


MARYLAND    AND    VIlKilNlA,    lSOO-1820.  37 

plificd  in  duil}'  life  the  spirit  of  his  Muster.  No  man 
cou'ld  say  more  ap2)ropriateiy  or  cffeetively  than  he 
did,  "  The  Church  is  not  to  be  purified  by  controversy, 
but  by  holy  love."  His  favorite  adage  was,  "ioue  is 
power."  To  him,  more  than  to  any  one  else,  the  Theo- 
logical Seminary  stands  indebted.  He  needs  no  other 
monument  to  his  memory.  His  labors  in  its  behalf 
closed  only  with  his  life,  in  1830. 

A  year  before  the  death  of  Dr.  Rice,  Benjamin  F. 
Stanton  had  accepted  the  charge  of  the  Hanover 
Church;  and  his  services  were  for  a  time  called  into 
requisition  to  lecture  on  theology  in  the  place  of  Dr. 
Rice.  Intellectually  he  was  fully  equal  to  his  prede- 
cessor. A  Calvin  in  theology,^  he  was  a  very  Knox  in 
the  fearlessness  of  his  pulpit-ministrations.  Naturally 
inclined  to  be  sarcastic,  he  was  sometimes  facetiously 
caustic,  but  "  oftener  solemn  as  the  judgment,  and  ter- 
rible as  retribution."  For  brainless  arrogance  and 
impudent  folly  he  had  no  mercy.  Above  all  artifice,  he 
never  disguised  his  sentiments,  however  unacceptable. 
A  close  thinker,  a  strong  writer,  and  sometimes  an 
impassioned  speaker,  his  feeble  health  alone  prevented 
him  from  taking  rank  among  the  princes  of  pulpit- 
oratory. 

An  efficient  assistant  of  Dr.  Eice  in  the  management 
of  the  seminary,  and  one  upon  whom  in  his  illness  a 
large  share  of  responsibility  devolved,  was  Hiram  P. 
Goodrich,  employed  to  give  instruction  in  languages. 
Mr.  Goodrich  was  a  native  of  Richmond,  Mass.  (1800), 
a  graduate  of  Union  College,  a  student  of  theology  at 
Princeton,  and  in  1825  a  licentiate  of  Albany  Presby- 
tery. In  1826  he  was  elected  a  professor  in  Union 
Seminary,  and,  while  occupying  this  post,  labored  exten- 
sively as  an  evangelist.     Dr.  Rice  reposed  in  him  the 

1  Sprague,  iv.  52G. 
Vol.  it.— 4 


38  HISTORY    OF   PRESBYTERIANISM. 

utmost  confidence;  and  bis  conduct  justified  it.  Upon 
the  division  of  the  Church  (1837-38)  he  resigned  his 
professorship,  and  took  the  post  of  Professor  and  after- 
ward of  President  of  Marion  College,  Mo.  On  the 
lailure  of  that  institution,  he  labored  as  a  Biissionarj^ 
within  the  bounds  of  that  State.  His  death  occurred 
May  19,  1859. 

But  a  permanent  successor  of  Dr.  Eice  as  Theological 
Professor,  one  well  worthy  to  wear  his  mantle,  was 
found  within  the  bounds  of  the  Synod,  and  inaugurated 
April  11,  1832. 

At  the  head  of  Liberty  Hall — Washington  College — 
stood,  at  the  time  of  Dr.  Rice's  death,  a  man  who  in 
the  qualities  of  intellectual  and  moral  greatness  had 
scarcely  a  supei'ior  in  his  native  State.  This  was  George 
Addison  Baxter,  a  graduate  of  the  institution  in  179G, 
and  a  theological  pupil  of  the  rector,  William  Graham.' 
After  laboring  as  a  missionary  for  some  time,  he  took 
charge  of  New  London  Academy,  from  which  in  1798 
he  was  called  to  the  Professorship  of  Mathematics  at 
Liberty  Hall.  Ui^on  the  death  of  the  principal,  Mr. 
Graham,  in  the  following  year,  he  was  chosen  to  suc- 
ceed him;  and  in  this  post  he  continued — officiating  at 
the  same  time  as  pastor  of  New  Monmouth  and  Lex- 
ington Churches — until  1829. 

Few  men,  for  the  same  period  of  time,  have  under- 
taken so  much ;  and  fewer  still  have  accomplished  what 
he  achieved.  In  seasons  of  revival  he  was  known  to 
spend  five  hours  each  day  in  his  college  duties,  and  to 
preach  every  night  for  weeks  together.  His  desire  to 
devote  himself  exclusively  to  pastoral  labor  led  him  to 
relinquish  his  connection  with  the  college;  and  two 
years  afterward,  in  the  autumn  of  1831,  he  w^as  called 
as  Theological  Professor  to  succeed  Dr.  Rice. 

'  Sprague,  iv    192. 


MARYLAND    AND    VIRGINIA,    1800-1820.  39 

The  semiuary  at  the  time  was  in  an  embarrassed 
state,  and  the  several  vacations  of  the  institution  were 
devoted  b}"  Dr.  Baxter  to  soliciting  pecuniary  aid  on 
its  behalf.  Until  his  death,  in  1841,  he  continued  almost 
iininterruptedly  to  devote  himself  to  the  duties  of  his 
oiiice.^ 

With  a  mind  exceedingly  well  balanced,  an  under- 
standing vast  in  its  powers  of  comprehension  and 
eminently  profound,  logical,  and  lucid,  a  judgment  ac- 
curate and  discriminating,  and  a  memory  remarkably 
retentive,  he  combined  an  amount  of  fervent  emotion 
Avhich  in  his  pulpit-utterance  "sent  forth  his  great 
thoughts  in  burning  and  melting  masses."  Always 
clear,  he  was  almost  always  convincing.  He  seemed 
to  grasp  a  difficult  subject  and  apprehend  all  its  bear- 
ings almost  by  intuition.  His  power  of  condensation, 
moreover,  was  remarkable.  Few  ministers  whose  ser- 
mons, like  his,  extended   to  three-quarters  of  an  hour, 

1  The  successor  of  Dr.  Baxter  upon  his  death,  in  1841,  was  Dr. 
Samuel  B.  Wilson,  who  for  more  than  twenty  years  had  been  set- 
tled at  Fredericksburg.  In  1835,  Stephen  Taylor  was  elected  to 
the  Professorship  of  Ecclesiastical  History.  For  nine  years  he  had 
been  settled  at  Richmond,  and,  to  the  regret  of  a  warmly-attached 
congregation,  he  accepted  the  call  to  the  seminary.  In  the  division 
of  the  church,  the  majority  of  the  Synod  placed  themselves  on  the 
basis  of  the  Excision,  and  he  felt  it  incumbent  on  him  to  resign  his 
otfice.  This  he  did  in  the  spring  of  1838.  For  a  year  or  two,  at 
about  this  period,  Elisha  Bnllantine  was  employed  as  an  assistant; 
and  subsequently,  for  many  years,  the  faculty  consisted  of  Dr.  S.  B. 
Wilson,  Professor  of  Theology,  Dr.  S.  L.  Graham,  Professor  of 
Oriental  Literature,  and  Rev.  F.  S.  Sampson  as  assistant  instructor. 
In  1851  (Oct.  23),  Dr.  Graham  tendered  his  resignation.  Dr.  R.  J. 
Breckenridge  was  chosen  to  succeed  him,  but  declined  to  serve.  In 
1851  (?>Iarch  23),  Dr.  Robert  L.  Dabney  was  elicted  to  the  vacancy. 
The  death  of  Dr.  Sampson  occurred  April  9,  1854;  his  successor 
was  Rev.  B.  M.  Smith,  elected  June  14,  1854.  At  about  this  time 
arrangements  were  made  for  the  endowment  of  a  Fourth  Professor- 
ship, to  which  W.  J.  Iloge  was  elected  April  12,  185(). 


40  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

have  been  requested,  as  be  was  by  liis  bearers,  to  ])reacb 
longer.  His  prayers  were  brief  but  coDiprehensive, 
He  rarely  used  tbe  pen,  and  wrote  but  few  of  his 
lectures.  In  the  pulpit  he  scorned  the  aid  of  even  the 
briefest  outline.  Yet  his  words  were  well  chosen  and 
weight}^.  Nor  were  they  made  less  impressive  as  the 
hearer  gazed  upon  his  tall,  manly  frame,  and  the  ex- 
panded, massive  brow  on  which  the  very  majesty  of 
mind  seemed  enthroned.  He  had  imagination,  and  he 
had  pathos;  and  in  his  preaching  he  not  rarely  had 
to  struggle  powerfully  to  suppress  his  emotions.  His 
mind  was  more  rapid  than  his  words,  and  his  heart 
kept  pace  with  bis  intellect. 

His  modesty  was  equal  to  his  merit,  and  in  a  strange 
pulpit  he  was  as  easily  embarrassed  as  the  humblest 
and  plainest  student  fresh  from  the  seminary.  Yet, 
while  he  seemed  to  shun  notice,  his  abilities  were  equal 
to  the  highest  position.^ 

During  the  period  under  review,  Yirginia  could  boast 
of  some  of  the  most  eminent  preachers  within  the 
bounds  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  Besides  those 
already  mentioned,  there  were — in  Hanover  Presby- 
tery-^=— Mitchel,  at  the  Peaks,  the  fire  of  his  youth  still 
unquenched ;  his  colleague  James  Turner,  with  his 
"soul-stirring,  tear-drawing  eloquence,''^  and  his  power, 
unrivalled  among  his  brethren,  over  the  jDassions  of 
men,  now  winning  by  the  soft  melody  of  his  voice,  and 
now  startling  by  tones  that  made  the  hearer  quake; 
Matthew  Lyle,  of  Briery,  for  some  time  a  colleague  of 
Archibald  Alexander,  of  whom  the  latter  said,  "I  never 
knew  a  man  who  was  more  incapable  of  insincerity:" 
in  Lexington  Presbytery,  William  Calhoon,  of  Staun- 

1  For  a  sketch  of  the  life  and  character  of  Jonathan  P.  Gushing, 
successor  of  Dr.  M.  Hoge  in  the  Presidency  of  Ilampden-Sidney, 
see  American  Quarterly  Register  for  Nov,  1838. 

2  Sprague,  iv    195. 


MARYLAND    AND    VIRUINIA,    1S00-1S20.  41 


ton,  a  feon-in-law  of  Dr.  Wuddcl,  a  man  of  vigorous  in- 
tellect, great  self-command,  ready  mind,  fine  conversa- 
tional powers,  and  enlarged  public  spirit;  Speece,  of 
Augusta,  "  tall,  large,  and  lubberly,"  a  great  reader,  a 
charminir  conversationist,  overflowing  witb  droll  humor, 
and,  though  steeped  in  Virgmianism  and  Presbyterian- 
ism,  still  retaining  a  spice  of  the  native  sap  of  his  G-er- 
man  stock  ;  Daniel  Baker,  who,  after  passing  the  ordeal 
of  Presbyterial  examination,  and  scarcely,  after  two 
days'  discussion  and  doubt,  obtaining  his  licensure,  had 
commenced  (1818)  his  pastorate  at  Harrisonburg,  soon, 
however,  to  enter  upon  those  extended  and  arduous 
labors  which  were  to  class  him  along  with  Nettleton 
as  one  of  the  most  eminent  "  evangelists"  of  the  age: 
in  Winchester  Presbyterj^,  William  Hill,  of  Winchester, 
a  man  of  fine  appearance  and  noble  bearing,  with  a 
clear  and  vigorous  intellect,  a  Eoman  firmness,  ardent, 
fearless,  and  enthusiastic, — one  who  might  have  stood  as 
a  model  of  Paul  before  Felix,  or  of  Luther  at  the  Diet 
of  "Worms ;  William  Williamson,  of  Middleburg,  of 
powerful  intellect,  and  a  bold,  exciting  preacher;  John 
Matthews,  of  Shepherdstown,  no  unworthy  successor 
of  Moses  Hoge,  but  ere  long  to  occupy  a  responsible 
post  in  the  new  seminary  of  the  Northwest;  William 
N".  Scott,  a  missionary  and  an  evangelist,  eminent  for 
sound  sense,  fervent  piety,  and  extensive  usefulness; 
John  Blair  Hoge,  of  graceful  form,  courteous  manner, 
penetrating  intellect,  and  torrent-like  eloquence;  along 
with  others  who  in  obscure  spheres  were  content  to 
toil  on,  often  eking  out  their  salary  by  teaching  or 
labor  on  the  farm,  yet,  in  devotion  to  their  great  work, 
declining  to  yield  to  the  attractions  of  more  inviting 
spheres.^ 


1  James  Black,  born  at  Millerstown,  Pa.,  was  licensed  by  Abing-> 
don  Presbytery  in   1809.     From   1810  to   1825  he  was  settled  at 

4* 


42  HISTORY    OP    PKESBYTERIANISM. 

The  Great  Revival  in  Kentucky  in  1801  exerted  a 
powerful  influence  throughout  portions  of  the  Synod 
of  Virginia  within  the  bounds  of  the  State.  The 
testimony  of  Dr.  Baxter  in  regard  to  this  remarkable 
work — the  scenes  of  which  he  visited  and  the  features 
of  which  he  carefully  noted — was  to  the  efiect  that  it 
was  "among  the  most  extraoi'dinary  that  had  ever 
visited  the  Church  of  Christ,  and,  all  things  considered, 
peculiarly  adapted  to  the  circumstances  of  that  coun- 
try." 

It  is  not  strange  that,  entertaining  such  views,  which 
he  communicated  in  a  lengthy  letter  to  his  friend 
Alexander,  he  should  find  others,  more  excitable  than 
himself,  prepared  to  welcome  religious  awakening 
even  though  accompanied  with  the  "  exercises."  The 
excitement  did,  in  fact,  spread  to  a  large  extent  through 
Western  Virginia.  It  was  first  felt  in  the  Presbyterian 
settlements  along  the  head-waters  of  the  Kanawha,^  in 
Greenbrier  county.  Here  were  no  settled  ministers. 
Occasional  visits  were  indeed  made  by  missionaries  to 
this  region ;  but  the  work  began  at  a  prayer-meeting 
of  private  Christians. 

In  the  latter  part  of  1801,  the  churches  under  the 
care  of  Messrs.  Mitchel  and  Turner  were  greatly  re- 
vived. There  were  numerous  conversions.  Many  were 
subject  to  bodily  agitations,  and  fell  upon  the  ground 
as  if  smitten  by  a  resistless  power.  In  the  succeeding 
spring  the  work  was  still  more  powerful.  The  Pres- 
bytery of  Hanover  met  at  Bethel.  Crowds  gathered 
to  listen  to  the  preaching  of  the  ministers.  There 
were  some  bodily  exercises,  but  no  noise  or  disorderly 

Romney,  removing  afterward  to  Elk  Branch.  He  subsequently 
labored  in  Ohio,  but  died  at  Shepherdstown,  Va.,  1860.  Mild  and 
gentle,  he  conciliated  affection  and  respect.  His  successor  at  Rom- 
ney for  many  years  has  been  Dr.  W.  H.  Foote. 

*  Foote's  Sketches  of  Virginia,  Second  Series,  p.  288. 


MARYLAND    AND    VIRCJINIA,    1800-1820.  43 

manifestations  of  feeling.  The  work  extended  to  tho 
east  of  the  Eidge.  The  congregations  in  Albemarle,  in 
Prince  Edward,  and  in  Charlotte  were  greatly  awak- 
ened. Baxter's  congregations  became  deeply  interested. 
The  excitement  spread  through  the  length  of  the  Yal- 
ley.  The  bodily  exercises  were  in  some  cases  violent. 
AVere  they  a  necessary  part  of  the  work  ?  was  the  ques- 
tion asked  by  many.  Samuel  Brown,  of  New  Provi- 
dence, declared  them  a  profane  mixture, — a  device  of 
Satan  to  mar  the  work  of  God.  Baxter  and  others 
were  in  doubt.  They  dared  not  denounce,  even  where 
they  could  not  approve.  The  general  sentiment,  how- 
ever, was  against  them;  and  at  length  they  were  rarely 
manifested. 

For  several  years,  however,  the  effects  of  the  revival 
continued  to  be  witnessed  in  different  parts  of  the 
State. ^  There  were  conversions  in  places  where  there 
were  no  organized  churches  or  stated  ministry.  The 
Presbyterian  Church  was  not  prepared  fitly  to  occupy 
the  field.  She  lacked  the  men  needed  to  seek  out  the 
scattered  sheep  in  the  wilderness.  This  fact  had  its 
weight  in  impelling  the  Synod  to  prosecute  more 
energetically  their  plans  for  theological  education. 

1  The  Synod  of  Virginia  in  1816  and  1817  were  able  to  speak  of 
(he  encouraging  prospects  of  their  field.  The  Christian  activity  of 
the  congregations  of  Norfolk,  Petersburg,  Winchester,  Leesburg, 
Fredericksburg,  and  Richmond  was  commended.  Revivals  had 
prevailed  at  Winchester  and  Leesburg  in  1816,  and  in  the  following 
year  the  church  of  Alexandria  was  perhaps  saved  from  extinction 
by  a  revival. — Christian  Herald,  ii.  254,  iii.  105. 


44  HI8T0I11:    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 


CHAPTEE  XXVI. 

THE    CAROLINAS   AND    GEORGIA,    lSOO-1820. 

In  1800,  the  strength  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
south  of  Virginia  was  represented  by  four  out  of  the 
six  Presbyteries  constituting  the  Synod  of  the  Caro- 
linas.  These  were  the  Presbj^teries  of  Orange,  South 
Carolina,  Concord,  and  Hopewell.  Concord  had  been 
formed  by  a  division  of  Orange  in  1795,  and  Hopewell 
by  a  division  of  South  Carolina  in  1796. 

The  Presbytery  of  Orange  in  1800  numbered  twelve 
ministers,  of  whom  eight  were  pastors,  and  had  under 
its  care  not  far  from  forty  congregations,  of  which 
nearly  one-half  were  vacant.  Ilenrj^  Patillo,  the  pupil 
of  Davies,  cheerful  in  the  hardest  lot  and  unwearied 
in  devotion  to  pastoral  duty,  was  still  at  Grassy  Creek 
and  Nutbush,  where  he  had  been  settled  for  twenty 
years.  But  his  life,  which  had  been  a  i^attern  of  re- 
signation, usefulness,  and  piety,  was  drawing  near  its 
close,  and  in  1801  he  died,  at  the  ripe  age  of  seventy- 
five  years.  For  quite  a  time  the  congregations  were 
left  without  a  pastor;  but,  previous  to  1809,  Ezekiel  B. 
Currie — a  pupil  of  Dr.  Caldwell' — commenced  his  minis- 
try with  them,  and  here  he  remained  for  many  years. ^ 
David  Caldwell  already  had  labored  for  nearly  thirty- 
five  years  as  pastor  of  Buffalo  and  Alamance  congrega- 
tions, and  till  1820,  \vhen  he  had  reached  his  ninety- 
fifth  year,  he  continued  to  supply  them  both.''  William 
Moore  was  at  Upper  and  Lower  Hico,  which  he  left 

'  Spr.ague.  iii.  6-5.  2  Succeeded  by  Samuel  L.  Graham. 

'  Succeeded  by  Eli  W.  Caruthei'S. 


THE   CAROLINAS   AND    GEORGIA,    1800-18120.  45 

before  1803,  and  previous  to  1809  The  Red  House  and 
-Rattlesnake  congregations,  to  which  he  had  hitherto 
n.lnistered,  Avere  siijiplied  by  Hugh  Shaw,  wlio  was 
succeeded  in  the  latter  within  a  few  years  by  William 
B.  Meroney,  who  was  stated  supjjl}'  also  at  Greer's 
and  Bethesda.^  Samuel  Stanford  was  at  Black  Eiver 
and  Brown  Marsh, — though  his  subsequent  charge  was 
Grove  and  South  River,  and  in  his  first  charge  he  was 
succeeded  bj'-  Robert  Tate,^  who  (1819)  had  charge  of 
HopcAvell,  Rockfish,  and  Keith,  as  well  as  Black  River. 
Angus  McDermot  was  at  Barbacue  Bluff  and  McCaj'S;^ 
James  II.  Bowman  at  Eno  and  Little  River,  Avhere  he 
was  succeeded  (1814-15)  by  Samuel  Paisley,  previously 
(1813)  stated  supply  at  Cedar  Creek  and  Haw  River; 
William  Thompson  at  Xew  Hope,  which  he  left  before 
1803,  and  which  continued  vacant  for  a  long  period  ; 
John  Gillespie  at  Center.  Laurel  Hill,  and  Raft  Swamp, 
which  he  left  before  1803,  and  in  which  he  was,  before 
1809,  succeeded  by  Malcolm  McNair;*  William  D. 
Paisley  at  Union  and  Lower  Buffalo,^ — though  he  soon 
after  removed  to  Hawfields  and  Cross-Roads;  Samuel 
McAdow  at  Siieedwell  and  Haw  River,  which  he  soon 
left,  and  which  remained  for  some  time  vacant;  and 
Robert  Tate  at  South  Washington  and  Rockfish. 

The  vacant  congregations  in  1809  were  Salem,  Mt. 

1  Mr.  Meroney's  successor,  wlio  took  charge  also  of  Haw  River, 
was. John  H.  Pickard,  born  in  178-3,  in  Orange  county,  N.C.  His  early 
education  was  limited,  and  he  never  enjoyed  the  advantages  of 
liberal  studies.  In  181fi,  he  was  licensed  and  installed  over  Stony 
Creek  and  Bethesda  Churches.  In  his  later  years  he  preached, 
as  health  permitted,  in  divers  localities.  He  was  an  energetic 
preacher  and  a  humble  and  fervent  Christian.  His  death  occurred 
in  his  seventy-eighth  j'ear,  Sept.  4,  1858. 

2  In  180.3  and  1809  at  South  Washington  and  Rockfish. 

3  His  successor  in  1815-10  was  Allan  McDougal. 

*  He  is  reported  as  having  Hopewell  instead  of  Raft  Swamp. 

*  Succeeded  by  Murdoch  McMillan  before  1809. 


46  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

Hermon,  Old  Fork,  Lumber  Eidge,  Philadelphia,  Hieo, 
Bethesda,  Stony  Creek,  New  Hope,  Speedwell,  Bairds, 
and  Haw  Eiver. 

The  church  at  Ealeigh  dates  from  1810.  In  that 
year  William  McPheeters,  who  had  been  called  to 
preside  over  the  Academy,  acceded  to  the  request  to 
preach  to  the  town  congregation,  then  without  a  pastor. 
No  church  of  any  kind  had  as  yet  been  organized  for 
the  place;  but  the  people  worshipped  together  in  the 
hall  of  the  House  of  Commons.^  Dr.  McPheeters  con- 
tinued his  connection  with  the  Academy  until  1820, 
and  with  the  congregation  as  stated  supply  for  several 
years  longer.  It  was  some  years  after  he  left  that  the 
church  was  formally  organized  j  and  in  1836  he  re- 
ceived an  invitation  to  become  its  pastoi-.  This,  how- 
ever, he  saw  fit  to  decline,  and  Drury  Lacy  was  soon 
after  called  to  the  pastorate.  His  ministry  here  con- 
tinued for  man}^  years. ^ 

The  church  at  Newbern  was  gathered  but  a  short 
time  previous  to  1809,  and  in  that  year  James  Iv.  Burch 
was  its  pastor.^  For  a  long  time  subsequent  it  must 
have  remained  in  a  feeble  state,  even  if  it  retained  its 
oi'ganization.*  In  1819,  it  was  vacant;  but  previous  to 
1825,  when  its  membership  amounted  to  fifty-four,  it 
had  secured  Lemuel  D.  Hatch  as  pastor. 

The  church  at  Chapel  Hill  dates  from  the  accession 
of  Eobert  H.  Chapman  to  the  Presidency  of  the  State 
University  in  1812.  This  institution  was  at  the  time 
in  a  depressed  condition ;  but,  with  all  his  efforts  in  its 
behalf,  Dr.  Chapman  did  not  neglect  the  spiritual  des- 
titutions ai'ound  him.    The  wants  of  his  own  immediate 

1  Sprague,  iv.  305.  ^  His  successor  is  J.  M.  Atkinson. 

3  Assembly's  Minutes  for  that  year.  The  report  for  1825  gives 
twenty-five  as  the  number  of  communicants, — which  would  indicatt 
an  organized  church.     This  is  at  variance  with  Sprague. 

*  It  is  not  mentioned  in    'ue  report  for  1814. 


THE    OAROLINAS    AND    GEORGIA,    1800-1820.  47 

neigliborhood  engaged  his  special  attention,  and  to 
him  principally  tiie  establishment  of  the  church  at 
Chapel  Hill  is  due.  During  his  connection  with  the 
institution  he  served  as  stated  supply  of  the  congrega- 
tion, and  upon  his  resignation  and  removal  the  charge 
devolved  upon  Dr.  Joseph  Caldwell,  who  succeeded  him 
in  the  Presidency.^ 

The  church  at  Oxford  is  first  reported  in  1819.  At 
that  time  Shepard  Iv.  IvoUock  united  the  charge  of  it 
with  his  duties  as  an  ofKcer  in  the  State  University. 
In  1821,  the  church,  which  was  in  a  languishing  state, 
became  the  charge,  in  connection  with  Grassy  Creek, 
of  tSamuel  Lyle  Graham,  afterward  Professor  in  the 
Union  Theological  Seminary  of  Virginia.  Under  his 
ministr}^  it  continued  to  prosper,  until,  in  1828,  he  re- 
signed it  for  ISTutbush  Church,  which  he  served  as  pastor 
in  conjunction  with  Grassy  Creek. 

At  Hillsborough  a  church  was  formed  previous  to  1819, 
when  John  Witherspoon  was  reported  as  pastor.  His 
connection  Avith  the  church  closed  in  1835-36,  when  he 
was  succeeded  by  Eobert  Burwell.  For  a  period 
(1825)  it  formed  a  joint  charge  with  Bethlehem. 

The  church  of  Fayetteville  is  first  rej^orted  in  the 
minutes  of  1814;  but  it  had  been  in  existence  for  many 
years  previous.  Its  first  minister  was  a  Mr.  Kerr;''' 
but  in  1800  it  was  supplied  by  John  Eobinson,  who, 
uniting  with  his  pulpit-labors  the  occupation  of  teach- 
ing, remained  for  less  than  two  years.  His  successor, 
in  1802,  was  Andrew  Flinn,  subsequently  of  Charleston, 
S.C.;  but  on  the  resignation  of  the  latter,  in  1806,  he 
was  induced  to  return  to  Faj^etteville  and  resume  his 
pastoral  labors  and  his  classical  school.  Of  the  Pres- 
byterian church  in  the  place  he  may  be  said  to  have 


1  His  successor  was  Professor  E.  Mitchell,  of  the  University. 
^  Memorial  of  Henry  A.  Rowl.ind,  D.D..  53. 


48  HISTORY    or    TRESBYTERIANISM. 

been  tlie  father.  He  not  only  organized  it,  but  re- 
ceived to  its  communion  many  who  have  been  its 
pilhirs  since.^  His  firmness,  dignity,  and  courtesy  en- 
abled him  to  exert  an  influence  in  such  a  community, 
in  favor  of  religion  and  good  order,  which  few  could 
have  successfully  attempted. 

In  1809,  William  M.  Turner,  who  had  been  for  some 
years  previous  at  Ealeigh,  removed  to  Fayetteville, 
engaging  in  the  work  of  teaching,  while  he  served 
also  as  stated  supply  of  the  congregation.^  His  term 
of  service  closed  with  his  untimely  death,  in  1813;  but 
his  brief  ministry — in  which  he  had  shown  himself  to 
be  a  man  of  marked  talents  and  character,  as  well  as  of 
great  promise — was  eminently  blessed.  For  several 
subsequent  years  the  pulpit  was  successively  occupied 
for  brief  periods  by  different  ministers,  until  Henry 
A.  Rowland  was  settled  as  pastor,  in  1830.  During  his 
ministry  the  town  itself  was  almost  reduced  to  ashes,  and 
the  church-edifice  (1831)  was  burned.  Largely  through 
his  energy  and  efforts,  it  was  speedily  rebuilt.  "Few 
churches  in  the  Union  can  point  to  such  a  succession 
of  able,  faithful,  and  godly  ministers  as  the  pastors  of 
the  Fayetteville  Church.  Kerr,  Eobinson,  Flinn,  the 
tliree  Turners,  Morrison.  Snodgrass,  Hanmer,  Kirk- 
patrick,  Rowland,  and  Gilchrist, — this  is  the  honored 
list  whose  names  have  graced  her  annals  and  to  whose 
virtues  she  refers  with  grateful  affection."* 

The  church  at  Wilmington  Avas  organized  previous 
to  1819,  and  a  congregation,  supplied  by  Robert  Tate, 
had  been  gathered  there  for  many  years;  but  it  had 
no  settled  pastor,  and  for  many  years  subsequent  it 
had  but  a  feeble  existence.  In  1831,  it  reported  a 
membership  of  only  twenty-eight. 

1  Sprague,  iv.  lU.  2  Ibid.  iii.  582. 

*  Memorial  of  Rowland.  Quotation  from  "North  Carolina  Pres- 
byterian." 


THE    CAROLINAS    AND    GEORGIA,    18U0-1820.  49 

In  1812  the  Presbytery  of  Fuj-etteville  Avas  formed 
by  a  division  of  the  Presbytery  of  Orange,  and  in  the 
following  3'ear  consisted  of  eight  ministers  and  had 
under  its  care  eight  congregations.  The  territory 
which  it  occupied  had  formed  the  eastern  border  of 
Orange  Presbytery,  but  it  steadily  increased,  till  it 
numbered  in  connection  with  it  some  of  the  most  able 
and  influential  churches  of  the  State.  In  1819  it  con- 
sisted of  eleven  minister  and  had  under  its  care 
thirty-two  congregations.  It  had  thus  outstripped  in 
growth  the  original  Presbytery,  which  in  that  year 
numbered  only  ten  members  and  twenty-two  congrega- 
tions. The  first  twenty  years  of  the  century  passed 
away  and  left  but  four  of  the  original  members  still  on 
the  field.  These  were  David  Caldwell,  already  past 
Ids  ninetieth  yeai\  Samuel  Stanford,  William  Paisley, 
and  Eobert  Tate.  A  large  proportion  of  the  ministry 
of  the  State  had  during  this  period  been  educated  at 
the  State  University,  which  was  officered  by  Presby- 
terians. At  its  head  were,  successively,  Eobert  H. 
Chapman  and  Joseph  H.  Caldwell,  both  bearing 
honoi'ed  names,  and  both  men  of  sterling  worth.  Kol- 
lock  and  Mitchell  likewise,  while  connected  with  the 
University,  were  active  and  efficient  members  of  the 
Presbytery.^ 

The  services  of  Dr.  Chapman  in  connection  with  the 
University  were  limited  to  the  period  from  1812  to 
1817 ;  but  the  influence  which  he  exerted  was  long  felt. 
Tender  and  earnest  in  the  pulpit,  he  shunned  all  aftecta- 
tion  of  style  or  learning,  and  presented  the  truth  in  a 
clear,  simple,  but  convincing  manner.  With  a  mind  well 
balanced,  and  characterized  by  sound  sense  rather  than 

1  The  Scotch-Irish  lineage  of  the  ministers  is  attested  by  their 
names.     Of  the    eleven    ministers    of    Fayetteville   Presbytery   iu 
1819,  seven  were  Mcs:  two  McMillans,  McFarland,  McNair,  Mclver, 
McDougal,  and  Melntyre. 
Vol.  II. — o 


Iv  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

brillianc}^,  he  was  exemplary  in  the  discharge  of  his 
duties  in  every  relation.  Under  his  Presidency  a  most 
salutaiy  moral  change,  largely  due  to  his  instrument- 
ality, was  effected  in  the  University;  and  not  a  few 
received  through  him  the  impressions  which  resiilted 
finally  in  their  conversion.^ 

His  successor — who  had  for  a  brief  time  been  his  pre- 
decessor— in  office.  Dr.  Caldwell,  was  one  of  the  most 
eminent  scholars  of  his  day.  Educated  at  Princeton 
largely  through  the  liberal  benefactions  of  Dr.  Wither- 
spoon.  he  repaid  the  kindness  by  his  diligence,  and 
throughout  his  college-course  retained  the  first  rank, 
and  graduated  with  the  highest  honors.  After  teach- 
ing for  a  time,  studying  theology,  and  acting  as  tutor 
at  Princeton,  he  was  called  in  1796  to  the  Professorship 
of  Mathematics  in  ISTorth  Carolina  University.  The 
institution  had  been  established  seven  years  previous 
(1789),  but  its  condition  yet  was  far  from  hopeful.  It 
was  in  a  feeble  state,  with  no  fixed  course  of  stud}-, 
without  discipline,  poorlj^  ofiicered,  short  of  funds,  and 
nearly  destitute  of  buildings,  library,  and  apparatus. 
The  Board  of  Trustees  were  mostly  uneducated  men, 
who  had  little  skill  to  organize  or  sustain  the  institu- 
tion. Even  its  existence  was  rcjieatedly  threatened; 
and  to  Dr.  Caldwell  is  justly  ascribed  the  merit  of 
having  saved  it  from  ruin  and  secured  it  the  rank  which 
it  has  continued  to  hold.  A  sjjirit  less  determined  than 
his  might  well  have  yielded  to  the  difficulties  with 
which  he  was  called  to  struggle.' 

His  Presidenc}^  of  the  institution  extended  from  1804 
to  1812,  and  again  from  1817  to  his  death  in  1835, — or 
over  a  space  of  more  than  twenty-five  years.  To  its 
prosperity  he  devoted  the  strength  and  energies  of  his 
life,  visiting  Europe  to  procure  books  and  apparatus. 

1  Sprague,  iv.  98.  2  Ibid.  iv.  17:^. 


THE   CABOLINAS    AND    GEORGIA,    1800-1820.  51 

Nobly  did  be  express  and  fcarlcsslj-  carry  into  jDractice 
bis  conviction  tbat  piety  and  learning  sbould  be  closely 
allied,  and  tbat  tbe  most  eiiicient  security  of  literary 
institutions  is  a  sound  religious  influence.  Patient 
laborious,  and  exact,  be  was  also  possessed  of  warm 
social  sympatbies.  His  ascendency  over  tbe  minds  of 
^•outb,  and  bis  power  to  control  tbe  disobedient  and 
refractory,  wei-e  almost  unrivalled.  It  is  possible  that 
witb  special  devotion  to  tbe  work  of  tbe  preacher  he 
might  have  attained  distinction ;  but  the  jDuljjit  was 
not  his  throne.  His  proper  sphere  was  the  one  which 
he  was  called  to  fill;  and  his  name,  embalmed  in  use- 
fulness, will  long  be  fragrant  among  the  sons  of  his 
adopted  State. 

John  Eobinson — to  whose  earlier  years  reference 
has  been  already  made,  and  whose  name  is  identified 
with  Fayetteville  (1800-18)  and  Poplar  Tent  (1818-36) 
Churches — was  a  man  of  mark  among  his  brethren. 
With  a  generosity  rarely  equalled,  a  keen  sensibility  to 
want  and  distress,  a  liberality  of  spirit  that  overleaped 
denominational  limits  and  bade  God-speed  to  every 
humane,  benevolent,  and  Christian  enterprise,  be  seemed 
to  rise  above  all  merely  selfish  interests  with  an  almost 
chivalrous  enthusiasm.  Humble,  unassuming,  and  un- 
ostentatiously devout,  he  was  yet  as  fearless  as  Knox 
or  Luther  in  his  rebuke  of  sin. 

Few  men  have  ever  commanded  at  once  a  larger 
measure  of  aff'ection  and  reverence.  His  life  commended 
bis  profession,  and  bis  integrity  and  liberality  were  pre- 
eminent. A  thorougb  classical  scholar  himself,  be  was 
the  devoted  friend  of  learning,  and  a  zealous  patron  of 
it.  When  a  college  in  tbe  western  part  of  the  State  was 
proposed,  he  was  one  oi'  the  most  active  supporters  of 
the  project.  When  the  more  recent  and  successful 
attempt  was  made  by  the  Presbyterians  of  ISorth 
Carolina   to   found    Davidson   College,  he    made  great 


52  HISTORY    Ol'    PKESBYTERIANISM. 

efforts  and  sacrifices  in  its  behalf,  and  tbey  were  cod 
tinned  to  the  close  of  his  life. 

In  the  pulpit  he  gave  place  to  no  fine-spun  speculation 
or  ingenious  theory.  He  presented  the  truth  as  he 
found  it  in  the  Bible,  in  its  penetrating  force  and  with 
majestic  simplicity.  His  style  was  clear,  direct,  and 
perspicuous.  His  delivery  was  interesting,  earnest,  and 
at  times  highly  eloquent.  His  voice,  clear,  strong,  and 
melodious,  was  admirably  modulated  from  the  highest 
to  the  lowest  key,  and  gave  fitting  expression  to  his 
deep  convictions  of  truth,  his  elevated  sentiments,  and 
his  warm  emotions;  nor  is  it  strange  that  he  should 
have  been  reckoned  among  the  most  popular  preachers 
of  his  day. 

Malcolm  McN"air  (ordained  1802)  was  a  native  of 
Eobeson  county,  and  his  studies  were  pursued  first  with 
Dr.  McCorkle,  and  afterward  at  Dr.  Caldwell's  school.' 
For  neai'ly  twenty  years  he  was  pastor  of  Centre  and 
Ashpole  Churches  in  Eobeson  and  Laurel  Hill  in  Eich- 
mond  county.  His  labors  were  remarkably  blessed. 
Several  revivals  occurred  under  his  ministry.  His 
address  was  "  so  sweetly  captivating,  so  irresistibly 
alluring,"  that  he  was  always  listened  to  with  deep 
attention  even  by  opposers.  His  eloquence  was  not  of 
the  vehement,  but  of  the  persuasive,  kind.  With  alJ 
kindly  and  generous  sympathies  his  nature  overflowed 

Murdoch  McMillan,  licensed,  although  not  ordained. 
in  the  same  year  with  McNair,  was  also  a  member  of 
Orange  Presbyteiy  until  the  erection  of  that  of  Fayette- 
ville.  In  some  respects,  he  was  a  striking  contrast  to 
McNair.  For  the  suaviter  in  modo  he  substituted  the 
fortiter  in  re.  Yet  his  name  is  worthy  of  honorable 
mention.  Along  with  McNair,  he  was  eminently  useful 
in  building  up  tlie  churches  of  Fayetteville  Presbytery. 


-  E'oote's  North  Carolina. 


THK    rAIIOMNAS    AM>    fiKORGlA,   1S00-1S20.  53 

Ezekiel  B.  Currie  (^orduined  1802),  a  native  of  North 
Carolina,  was  educated  in  part  by  Dr.  Caldwell,  and  in 
part  by  Mr.  McGready.  To  the  ministry  of  the  latter 
be  attributed  his  conversion.  lie  was  first  awakened 
hy  a  question  put  him  by  an  old  gentleman  who  had 
silentlj"  listened  to  his  merriment  for  a  whole  evening: — 
"Young  man,  when  will  you  turn  to  serious  things?" 
The  question  troubled  him,  and  he  could  not  shake  off 
the  impression.  Under  the  labors  of  Mr.  McGready, 
he  at  length  was  led  to  entertain  a  Christian  hope  and 
direct  his  attention  to  the  gospel  ministry.  He  labored 
first  at  Bethany  Church  in  Caswell,  seven  years  later 
removing  to  Nutbush  and  Grassy  Creek,  and  finally  to 
Hawfields  and  Cross-Roads.  Eepeated  revivals  occurred 
under  his  ministiy. 

A  more  remarkable  man  in  some  respects  was  John 
Mclntyre,  a  native  of  Scotland,  and  for  some  time 
an  apprentice  to  a  shoemaker  in  Glasgow.^  From  his 
early  years  he  was  the  subject  of  serious  impressions, 
and  in  his  boyish  days  was  nicknamed  by  his  associates 
'•  preacher  Mclntyre."  Leaving  Glasgow,  he  engaged 
himself  in  the  Highlands  as  shepherd  to  a  wealthy 
land-owner.  At  the  age  of  twenty,  he  made  a  public 
profession  of  his  faith,  and  subsequently  gave  evidence 
of  the  strength  of  his  principles  in  trying  circumstances. 

Soon  after  this  he  was  married,  and,  in  1791,  emigrated 
to  North  Carolina.  On  his  voyage  he  buried  his  first- 
born cbild.  Domestic  afflictions,  like  successive  waves, 
rolled  over  himself  and  his  family,  and,  after  remaining 
for  some  years  in  North  Carolina,  he  removed  to  Ches- 
terfield District  in  South  Carolina.  Here,  in  attending 
the  camp-meetings  of  the  Great  Eevival,  he  was  led  for 
a  time  to  doubt  the  genuineness  of  his  piety.  This  con- 
stituted an  epoch  in  his  life.     Recovering  his  hope,  he 


I  Sprague,  iv.  418. 

5* 


54  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYIERIANISM. 

felt  an  anxious  desire  to  preach.  His  advanced  age,  hie 
limited  education,  and  the  advice  of  his  friends  were  al! 
against  it.  In  his  fifty-third  year  he  commenced  the 
study  of  the  Latin  grammar,  and,  after  laborious  appli- 
cation to  the  requisite  studies,  Avas  licensed  to  preach. 
Sept.  25,  1807.  For  two  years  he  labox-cd  as  a  mis- 
sionar}",  subsequently  settling  in  Robeson  county,  where 
for  nearly  thirty  years  he  supplied  the  four  congrega- 
tions of  Philadelphia,  Bethel,  Lumber  Ridge,  and  St. 
Paul.  His  active  pastorate  continued  till  1838;  but  his 
life  was  spared  till  1852,  when  he  had  reached  the  one 
hundred  and  third  year  of  his  age.  Pre-eminently 
devout,  prayerful,  and  vigilant  of  the  interests  and  wel- 
fare of  the  Church,  he  shrank  from  no  duty  and  was 
ready  for  every  emergency.  When  McNair,  more  emi- 
nent as  a  preacher,  had  exhausted,  on  the  occasion  of  a 
visitation  of  a  church,  his  stock  of  written  sermons, 
and  resolved,  if  he  must  preach,  to  go  and  procure 
others,  Mclntyre  opposed  it.  "  Oh,  man,"  said  he, 
"  that  will  never  do  :  do  you  not  see  that  a  good  and 
great  work  is  begun,  and  is  going  on  prosperously? 
You  must  not,  you  cannot,  leave  this  great  and  inte- 
resting assembly  of  people."  McNair  insisted  on  his 
purpose.  "  But  can't  you  take  a  new  text,  man,"  re- 
plied Mclntyre,  "  and  get  along  in  that  way  ?"  The 
•counsel  was  characteristic.  He  had  no  sensibility  to  be 
wounded  by  a  lack  of  elegance  or  polish,  and  he  could 
not  see  the  interest  of  religion  exposed  to  suffer  from 
what  he  regarded  as  a  matter  of  intellectual  pride.  He 
was  ever  prepared  himself.  He  never  forgot  what  he 
had  learned  while  a  shepherd,  following  the  flocks  over 
the  hills  of  his  native  land  and  reading  and  meditating 
upon  the  Scriptures.  His  mind  was  stored,  not  with 
the  skeleton  of  a  doctrinal  system,  but  with  the  vital 
truths  of  the  word  of  God;  and  his  heart,  glowing  with 
the  fervor  of  devotion,  supplied  the  lack  of  erudite  ex- 


THE    CAROLINAS    AND    GEORGIA,  1S00-1S20.  55 

pression.  At  communion-seasons  he  was  truly  in  his 
element.  By  participation  in  such  privileges  he  seemed 
ahvays  to  be  refreshed  and  strengthened.  "  Of  the 
palms  of  victory,  the  crowns  of  glory,  the  white  robes 
of  righteousness  and  salvation,  the  joyful  and  eternal 
rest, — all  that  pertains  to  the  idea  of  heaven, — he  would 
speak  in  strains  of  love  and  sweetness  well  becoming 
those  immortal  themes."  Lingering  on  enfeebled,  and 
incapable  of  active  service,  till  after  he  had  passed  his 
hundredth  year,  it  was  a  profound  mystery  to  him  why 
his  Master  should  delay  so  long  to  call  him  home. 

The  Presbytery  of  Orange,  until  it  was  divided  to 
form  that  of  Concord,  covered  the  entire  State.  Con- 
cord was  erected  in  1795,  Faj'etteville  in  1812,  and 
Eoanoke  in  1835.  The  first  embraced  the  western 
portion,  the  second  the  southeastern,  and  the  third  the 
northeastern,  of  the  territory  of  the  original  Presbytery. 
The  membership  of  the  Presbyteries  in  1836  was  sixty- 
six  in  place  of  the  twenty-eight  in  1800 ;  and  the  churches 
under  their  care  numbered  one  hundred  and  sixteen, 
where  a  little  more  than  half  the  number  had  existed 
in  1800. 

But  to  make  up  the  aggregate,  Concord  Presbytery 
must  be  taken  into  account.  In  1800,  its  members  were 
Dr.  S.  E.  McCorkle  at  Thyatira,  James  Hall  at  Bethany, 
James  McRee  at  Centre,  David  Barr  at  Philadelphia, 
William  Davis  at  Olney,  Samuel  Caldwell  at  Sugar  Creek 
and  Hopewell,  James  Wallis  at  Providence,  Joseph  D. 
Ivilpatrick  at  Third  Creek  and  Unity,  Lewis  F.  Wilson 
at  Concord  and  Fourth  Creek,  Humphrey  Hunter  at 
Goshen  and  Unit}^,  John  M.  Wilson  at  Quaker  Meadows 
and  Morgantown,  John  Carrigan  at  Ramah  and  Beth- 
phage,  John  Andrews  at  Little  Britain,  Samuel  Davis 
at  Mamre,  and  George  Newton  at  Swananoa  and  Eimm's 
Creek.  The  churches  of  Steel  Creek,  Poplar  Tent, 
Rocky  River,  Smyrna,  Knob  Creek,  Mineral  Spring, 


56  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTEKJANISM. 

Chesnut  Spring,  Mt.  Pleasant,  Mountain  Creek,  and 
Long  Creek  were  vacant. 

In  1809,  McCorkle,  Hall,  McEee,  Caldwell,  Wallis, 
Kilpatrick,  Hunter,  J.  M.  Wilson,  Carrigan,  Newton, 
and  S.  Davis — eleven  out  of  the  fifteen — were  still 
members  of  the  Presbytery,  and  the  places  vacated  by 
ihe  others  had  been  filled  by  John  Brown,  Thomas  Hall, 
and  Andrew  S.  Morrison,  all  without  charge.  Ten  years 
later,  only  Hall,  McRee,  Caldwell,  Wallis,  Hunter,  Kil- 
patrick, Wilson,  Carrigan,  and  S.  Davis  remained,  while 
John  Eobinson,  removed  from  Orange  Presbytery,  was 
at  Poplar  Tent  and  Eamah,  Robert  B.  Walker  at  Be- 
thesda  and  Ebenezer,  James  S.  Adams  at  Bethel  and 
Beersheba,  John  B.  Davies  at  Fishing  Creek  and  Rich- 
ardson, John  Williamson  at  Hopewell  and  Paw  Creek, 
Henrj^  M.  Kerr  at  Olney,  Long  Creek,  and  New  Hope, 
and  Francis  H.  Porter  at  Ashville,  Rimm's  Creek,  and 
Swananoa.  The  vacant  congregations  were  Bullock's 
Creek  and  Salem;  Bethany,  Concord,  and  Fourth  Creek; 
Little  Britain  and  Hebron ;  Duncan's  Creek  and  Mor- 
gan town;  Jersey,  Joppa,  and  Quaker  Meadows;  Smyrna 
and  Muddy  Creek;  Lincolnton,  Unity,  Concordtown, 
Salem,  Mamre,  Lane  Creek,  Buffalo,  Amity,  Purity, 
Edwards,  Shiloh,  Yorkville,  Hopewell,  S.C.,  and  Wax- 
haw. 

The  fifteen  ministers  of  1800  had  increased  but  one 
in  nineteen  years;  while  the  congregations  had  risen 
from  thirty-two  to  fifty-eight.  One  of  the  most  painful 
features  of  the  history  of  Presbj^terianism  in  this  region, 
including  Georgia  at  a  subsequent  period,  was  the  in- 
ability of  the  Presbyteries  to  secure  men  trained  under 
their  care  for  the  work  of  the  ministry.  Nearly  all  that 
could  be  accomplished  was  to  make  good  the  places  of 
those  who  removed  to  other  fields  or  were  cut  off  by 
death. 

Anii  j-et  the  fault  could  be  scarcely  due  to  any  defect 


THE    CAROLINAS    AND    GEORGIA,  1800-1S20.  57 

in  the  character  or  policy  of  the  ministry  in  the  field. 
Among  them  were  to  be  found  men  not  only  foremost 
in  Christian  enterprise,  but  commanding  the  respect 
and  confidence  of  the  community  for  their  practical 
wisdom,  and  in  some  cases  for  their  statesmanship.  In 
the  scenes  of  the  Eevolutionary  conflict,  and  subse- 
quently in  assisting  to  lay  firm  the  foundations  of  esta- 
blished government,  or  making  provision  by  schools 
and  colleges  for  the  cause  of  popular  education,  they 
were  entitled  to  high  honor.  Men  like  the  Caldwells 
and  Wilsons,  or  of  the  stamp  of  Eobinson,  McCorkle, 
McEee,  and  Hall,  could  not  fail  to  leave  behind  them  a 
bright  and  noble  record. 

But  perhaps  no  member  of  the  Xorth  Carolina  Pres- 
byteries was,  on  the  whole,  more  meritorious  or  effective 
in  his  labors  to  extend  the  bounds  of  the  Church  than 
James  Hall,  of  whose  earlier  years  mention  has  already 
been  made. 

At  first  (1778)  he  took  charge  of  Bethany,  Fourth 
Creek,  and  Concord  congregations,  ere  long,  however, 
resigning  the  two  latter  in  order  to  devote  himself  per- 
sonally to  missionary  labor  under  the  care  of  the  Synod. 
A  more  devoted,  self-denying,  sagacious,  and  energetic 
laborer  was  probably  not  to  be  found  within  the  limits 
of  the  Church.  His  itinerant  ministry  extended  f:\r 
and  near, — to  central  Georgia  on  the  south,  and  to  the 
settlements  on  the  Mississippi  at  the  west.  His  frame 
seemed  to  know  no  weariness  or  exhaustion.  Unen- 
cumbered by  domestic  cares,  he  gave  himself  up  with 
his  whole  soul  to  labors  as  pastor,  evangelist,  and  mis- 
sionary. 

Of  the  poAverful  and  impressive  eloquence  of  Dr.  Hall 
we  have  the  most  conclusive  testimony  from  those  that 
heard  him.  The  Eev.  Dr.  Morrison  (Sprague's  Annals, 
iii.  386)  says,  speaking  of  a  period  previous  to  his 
own  conversion,  "When  other  ministers  preached,  I  sue- 


58  HISTORY    OF    PEESBYTERIANISM. 

ceeded  in  preserving  a  good  degree  of  indifference;  bm 
when  Dr.  Hall  rose  to  speak,  his  looks  and  voice  and 
solemn  manner  filled  me  with  an  indescribable  awe  and 
the  most  painful  apprehensions.  .  .  .  His  solemn  and  fer- 
vid manner  generally  awakened  the  bodily  exercises  in- 
cident to  that  day.  It  was  no  uncommon  thing  for  pei-- 
8ons  to  cry  out  in  distress  and  plead  aloud  for  mercy, 
or  give  thanks  to  God  for  their  feelings  of  joy  and  offer 
audible  supplication  for  their  lamilies  and  friends." 

I>r.  Charles  Caldwell,  in  his  Autobiography  (p.  82), 
speaks  of  Dr.  Hall's  aspect  as  "more  venerable  and 
apostolic"  than  that  of  any  other  man  he  had  ever  seen. 
"  In  the  power  and  majesty  of  pulpit  eloquence  he  had 
no  superior."  He  relates  the  circumstances  of  a  dis- 
course on  a  sacramental  occasion  in  Poplar  Tent  con- 
gregation, at  which  so  powerful  was  the  impression 
that,  when  he  concluded  one  of  his  descrijitions,  "a 
scream  was  uttered  by  several  women,  two  or  three 
were  stricken  down  by  their  emotion,  and  a  large  por- 
tion of  the  assembled  multitude  made  an  involuntary 
start." 

"  Never,"  bsljs  Dr.  Caldwell,  "  did  I  in  any  other  in- 
stance, except  one,  witness  an  effort  of  oratory  so  power- 
ful and  bewitching."  He  speaks  also  of  Dr.  Hall's  course 
during  the  war.  He  solicited  and  obtained  the  captaincy 
of  a  regiment  of  volunteer  dragoons,  on  conditions — 
prescribed  by  himself — of  raising  his  own  company, 
and  serving  as  their  chaplain  without  pay.  "  An  ex- 
cellent rider,  personally  almost  Herculean,  possessed 
of  a  very  long  and  flexible  arm,  and  taking,  as  he  did, 
daily  lessons  from  a  skilful  teacher  of  the  art,  he  became 
in  a  short  time  one  of  the  best  swordsmen  in  the  cavalry 
of  the  South.  Being  found,  moreover,  as  judicious  in 
council  as  he  was  formidable  in  action,  he  i-eceived  the 
sobriquet  of  the  'Ulysses  of  his  regiment.'  " 

"Notwithstanding  his  stern  and  formidable  qualities 


THE    (JAROLIXAS    AND    GEORGIA,  lSOO-1820.  59 

as  a  soldier,  he  was  one  of  the  mildest  and  meekest  of 
men."  Somewhere  about  1819,  Dr.  Caldwell  met  him 
for  the  last  time  at  the  General  Assembly  in  Philadel- 
phia. He  speaks  of  him  at  that  time  in  the  following 
language  : — "  From  the  superior  size  of  his  person,  the 
form  and  grandeur  of  his  head  and  countenance,  the 
snowy  whiteness  of  his  hair,  of  but  little  of  which  he 
had  been  shorn  by  the  hand  of  time,  and  from  the  sur- 
passing venerableness  of  his  whole  appearance,  he  was 
by  far  the  most  attractive  and  admired  personage  in 
the  reverend  body  of  which  he  was  a  member.  He  was 
instinctively  regarded  by  all  who  beheld  him  as  the 
rightful  Nestor  and  ornament  of  the  Assembly."  "Never, 
as  I  verily  believe,  was  he  surpassed  in  moral  recti- 
tude, pure,  fervent,  and  practical  piety,  and  usefulness 
in  the  wide  sphere  of  his  diversified  labors  in  the  Chris 
tian  ministry,  by  any  individual  our  country  has  pro- 
duced." 

Among  the  ministers  of  the  State  were  not  a  few  who 
were  in  full  sympathy  with  Dr.  Hall,  and  who  nobly 
sustained  him  in  his  zeal  for  missions.  Wallis,  pastor 
of  New  Providence  (1792-1819),  a  warm  friend  of  learn- 
ing, and  for  several  years  at  the  head  of  a  classical 
school,  and  also  a  trustee  of  the  State  University;*  Kil- 
patrick,  of  Third  Creek,  a  zealous  friend  of  revivals,  and 
less  scrupulous  than  McCorkle  in  excepting  to  their 
irregularities  f  the  Caldwells,  a  trio  memorable  in  the 
history  of  the  State;  Eobinson,  perhaps  better  entitled 
than  any  other  to  be  regarded  as  the  father  of  Fayette- 
ville  Presbytery ;  the  two  Paislej^s,  of  revival  memory ; 
the  three  Turners,  one  of  them  at  Ealeigh  giving  pro- 
mise in  his  early  ministry,  so  untimely  closed,  of  emi- 
nent service  in  the  cause  of  Christ;  together  with 
McPheeters,  Tate,  and,  at  a  later  period,  Kollock  and 

1  Sprague,  iv.  60,  »  lb.  iv.  601 


60  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

Mitchell,  Kerr  and  Porter, — these  constituted  the  nu- 
cleus of  a  band  which  nobly  sustained  for  many  j^ears 
under  great  discouragements,  the  cause  of  religion  and 
learning. 

In  1799,  South  Carolina  Presbytery,  representing  the 
strength  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  within  the  bounds 
of  South  Carolina  and  Georgia,  numbered  eighteen 
ministers,  and  had  under  its  care  fifty-one  congrega- 
tions, of  which  nearly  one-half  were  vacant.  Of  the 
others,  in  most  cases  two,  and  sometimes  three,  were 
united  under  the  charge  of  a  single  pastor. 

At  Bullock's  Creek,  teaching  a  school  of  a  high  order, 
while  he  supplied  the  church,  was  Joseph  Alexander,  a 
man  of  fine  talents  and  accomplishments,  and  an  un- 
commonly animated  and  popular  preacher.^  In  1805, 
he  was  succeeded  by  the  gifted  but  erratic  William  C. 
Davis,  subsequently  (1811)  deposed  from  the  ministry 
for  unsoundness  of  doctrine,  but  drawing  off"  others  into 
connection  with  him,  and  becoming  the  founder  of  a  sect. 

At  Broadaway  was  James  Gilliland,  modest,  diffident, 
and  self-distrustful,  but  fearless  in  the  utterance  of  his 
sentiments,  and  shrinking  from  no  conclusion  to  which 
he  was  forced  by  his  convictions.  His  anti-slavery  sen- 
timents as  early  as  the  date  of  his  settlement  (1796) 
were  offensive  to  a  portion  of  his  congregation.^     The 

^  Sprague,  iii.  331. 

2  lb.  iv.  138.  The  subject  of  slavery  had  been  discussed  at  Charles- 
ton, and  violent  results  had  followed,  as  early  as  1802.  Two  Method- 
ist preachers,  John  Harper  and  George  Dougherty,  were  stationed 
at  the  time  in  that  city.  Hearing  that  Mr.  Harper  had  received 
documents  from  the  North  containing  resolutions  to  memorialize  the 
Legislature  against  slavery, — though  the  documents  were  burned  in 
presence  of  the  Mayor, — a  lawless  mob  resolved  to  avenge  themselves 
on  Mr.  Harper.  He  escaped  them,  however  ;  but  Mr.  Dougherty  was 
seized,  dragged  through  the  streets  to  the  pump,  and  would  have 
been  suffocated  by  the  water  pumped  on  liini,  if  he  had  not  been 
rescued.     See  Rangs's  Methodism,  ii    125. 


THE    CAROLINAS    AND    GEORGIA,  1800-1820.  61 

dissolution  of  his  pastoral  relation,  in  1805,  followed 
upon  the  difficulties  and  differences  of  sentiment  and 
feeling  upon  this  subject,  and  he  removed,  to  spend  the 
residue  of  his  life  and  ministry  among  the  churches  of 
the  Northwest,  where  freer  utterance  might  be  allowed 
him. 

At  Goodhope  and  Koberts  congregations  was  John 
Simpson,  whose  pastorate  closed  previous  to  1808,  and 
who  was  succeeded,  after  an  interval  of  several  years, 
by  Kichard  B.  Cater,  wdio  took  charge,  soon  after  his 
licensure  in  1814,  of  the  two  congregations,  together 
with  that  of  Broadaway,  which  had  been  left  vacant  by 
the  resignation  of  Mr.  Baird,  Gilliland's  successor.  At 
Nazareth  was  James  Templeton,  succeeded  previous 
to  1808  by  James  Gilliland,  Jr.,  whose  pastoral  charge 
of  the  congregation  closed  previous  to  1819,  when  it 
was  reported  vacant.  At  Eocky  Eiver,  although  but 
for  a  short  time,  was  Dr.  Francis  Cummins ;  but  soon 
after  1804  he  was  succeeded  by  Moses  Waddel,  who, 
on  establishing  his  classical  school  at  Willington,  sup- 
plied Hopewell  and  Eocky  Eiver,  till  elected  President 
of  Georgia  University  in  1819.^  In  charge  of  Catho- 
lic and  Purity  congregations  was  Eobert  McCulloch, 
whose  pastorate  at  Purity  closed  previous  to  1803, 
where  he  was  succeeded  (before  1808)  by  Thomas  Neely, 
who  also  had  charge  of  Edmonds  congregation;  while 
Mr.  McCulloch  had  (1814)  Catholic  and  Concord,  which 
he  retained  for  many  years.  James  Stephenson  had 
charge  of  Bethel  congregation  in  Williamsburg  and 
Indiantown,  which  he  retained  till  1808.  His  suc- 
cessors, previous  to  1814,  were  Andrew  Flinn,  for  a 
brief  period,  and  Daniel  Brown. ^  The  pastor  of  Wax- 
haw  congregation  was  John  Brown,  whose  pastorate 

1  His  successor  was  R.  B.  Cater,  at  Willington. 

*  In  1819,  Robert  W.  .James  had  charge  of  Bethel  and  Indiantown. 

Vol.  II.— 6 


62  HISTORY    OF    PRKSBYTKUIANJiSM. 

here  closed  with  his  acceptance  of  the  post  of  Professor 
of  Logic  and  Moral  Philosophy  in  the  University  of 
South  Carolina,  in  181.9.  At  Ijong  Canes  was  Eobert 
Wilson,  whose  pastorate  closed  previous  to  1808,  but 
who  previous  to  1814  was  succeeded  at  Lower  Long- 
Cane  by  Henry  Eeid.  At  Fair  Forest  was  William  Wil- 
liamson, Avhose  pastorate  continued  till  after  18Uo,  and 
who  w^as  succeeded  previous  to  1808  by  Daniel  Gray, 
who  took  charge  also  of  Union  and  G-rassy  Spring, 
which  had  long  been  vacant,  but  who  was  succeeded 
by  Joseph  Hillhouse  previous  to  1819. 

At  Bethesda  was  Eobert  B.  Walker,  whose  pastorate 
continued  as  late  as  1808.^  At  Columbia  was  David 
E.  Dunlaj),  whose  successors  were  Benjamin  E.  Mont- 
gomery (previous  to  1814)  and  Thomas  C.  Henry 
(Nov.  1818-24).  At  Lebanon  and  Wateree  was  Samuel 
W.  Tongue,  whose  charge  in  subsequent  years  till 
1819  is  reported  as  Lebanon  and  Mt.  Olivet.  At  Salem 
was  John  Foster,  succeeded  previous  to  1803  by  George 
G.  McWhorter,  whose  pastorate  closed  previous  to  1808, 
the  church  subsequently  remaining  vacant  for  many 
years.  At  Duncan's  Creek  and  Little  Eiver  w^as  John 
B.  Kennedy,  whose  pastorate  extended  over  more  than 
a  quarter  of  a  century.  At  Bethel  and  Beersheba  was 
George  G.  McWhorter,  wiio  shortly  after  removed  to 
Salem  and  Withersjjoon,  and  whose  successor  for  a  brief 
period  was  Thomas  Neely.  Mr.  McWhorter' s  sub- 
sequent charge,  assumed  previous  to  1814,  w^as  that  of 
Beaver  Creek  and  Concord  congregations,  which  had 
long  been  vacant.  At  BetheP  and  Cane  Ci-eek  was 
Andrew  Brown,  whose  charge  of  the  latter  was  de- 
mitted  previous  to  1819,  while  he  still  retained  the 
^ormer.     John    B.   Davis   was   at   Fishing   Creek    and 


1  Subsequently  of  Concord  Presbytery. 

»  Written  Bethlehem  in  the  report  for  1800, 


THE    CAROLINAS    AND    GEORGIA,    lSOO-1820.  63 

Richardson,  where  his  pastorate  eoutinued  as  late  as 
18C9. 

The  vacant  churches  in  1800  were  Hopewell,  Carmel, 
Greenville,  Eockj"  Creek,  Smjn-na,  Coffeeiowu,  liope- 
Avell  on  Pee  Dee,  Beaver  Creek,  Hanging  Rock,  Mt. 
Olivet,  Zion,  Aimwell,  Concord,  Ebenezer,  Fish  Dam, 
Grassy  Spring,  Union,  Newton,  Milford,  North  Pacolatc, 
Fairview,  Liberty  Spring,  Calvary,  Bethany,  and  Unity. 

Hopewell  and  Carmel  long  remained  destitute  of  a 
pastor;  but  previous  to  1819,  James  Hillhouse  had  them 
as  a  joint  charge.  Previous  to  1803,  Smyrna  was  sup- 
plied by  Hugh  Dixon,  whose  charge  subsequently  in- 
cluded Greenville,  and  whose  pastorate  extended  over 
more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century.  At  about  the  same 
time,  James  Gillilaud,  Jr.,  took  charge  of  Nazareth  and 
Fairview,  resigning  the  latter  before  1814  and  the 
former  previous  to  1819,  when  he  had  removed  to 
Pearl  River,  Mississippi,  leaving  both  churches  vacant. 
Before  1808,  Mt.  Olivet  was  united  with  Lebanon  under 
the  charge  of  S.  W.  Yongue..  Before  1808,  William  G. 
Rosborough  had  taken  the  charge  of  Concord  (with 
Horeb),  where  his  successor,  before  1814,  was  G.  G. 
McWhorter,  who  had  Beaver  Creek  as  a  joint  charge.^ 
Before  1808,  Aimwell  and  Hopewell  had  become  the 
joint  charge  of  Duncan  Brown,  who  was  succeeded 
previous  to  1814  by  Daniel  Smith. 

Besides  these,  Thomas  D.  Baird,  for  two  or  three 
years,  as  a  successor  of  James  Gilliland  at  Broadaway, 
had  charge  of  Goodhope  and  Roberts  (1812-15).  In 
1809,  William  H.  Barr  commenced  a  pastorate  of  thirty- 
four  years  over  the  Upper  Long  Cane  congregation, 
Abbeville  District.  The  church  at  Camden  dates  from 
1806,  when  Andrew  Flinn  commenced  his  labors  here 
and  succeeded  in  organizing  and  building  up  a  respect- 

'  Mt.  Zion  is  reported  with  these  in  1814. 


64  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

able  congregation.  His  successor  was  George  Eeid, 
whose  pastorate,  commencing  previous  to  1814,  closed 
before  1819,  when  the  church  was  reported  vacant. 
Previous  to  1808,  John  Cousar  had  charge  of  New  Hope ; 
but  before  1814  his  charge  was  Midway  and  Bruington, 
v/hich  he  retained  for  many  years. 

The  church  of  Augusta,  though  in  existence  previous 
to  1792,  when  Dr.  William  McWhirr  declined  the  in- 
vitation to  take  charge  of  it  in  conjunction  with  the 
academy,  on  account  of  the  affairs  of  both  being  com- 
plicated by  the  movements  of  political  parties,  is  not 
reported  in  the  minutes  of  Assembly  until  1814,  when 
John  R.  Thompson  had  the  pastoral  charge.  Dr. 
McAVhirr,  however,  soon  after  declining  the  call  of  the 
Augusta  church,  commenced  his  labors  at  Sunbury  and 
Springfield,  Ga.,  and  in  1809  commenced  preaching  at 
the  court-house  in  Mcintosh  county,  where  he  suc- 
ceeded in  organizing  a  church,  subsequently  transferred 
to  Darien. 

The  first  pastor  reported  at  Waynesborough  was  E. 
B.  Caldwell  (1819).  This  church,  as  well  as  that  of 
Winnsborough,  was  organized  previous  to  1814,  when 
it  is  first  found  on  the  minutes  of  Assembly.  At 
Charleston  a  Second  Presbyterian  Church  was  formed, 
through  the  desire  felt  to  secure  the  services  of  Andrew 
Flinn,  then  laboring  at  Bethel  and  Indian  town.  On 
•occasion  of  visiting  Chai'leston,  he  had  preached  several 
times  in  the  Scotch  Presbyterian  Church.  Such  was  the 
impression  made  by  his  fervid  eloquence  that  the  pro- 
ject was  immediately  formed  to  build  a  new  and  elegant 
Presbyterian  church  in  the  upper  part  of  the  city,  with 
the  express  intention  of  calling  him  as  pastor.  Such 
was  the  enthusiasm  in  his  favor  that  a  large  subscrip- 
tion was  raised,  and  the  foundations  laid  of  an  edifice 
which  cost  not  less  than  one  hundred  thousand  dollars. 
While  the  edifice  was  in  process  of  erection,  he  com- 


HIE    CAROLINAS    AND    GEORGIA,    i800-lS20.  65 

ineiiced  his;  ministry  among  the  new  congregation,  who 
had  secured  the  use  of  an  unoccupied  Methodist  house 
of  worship.  His  installation  took  place  April  4,  1811; 
and  under  his  pastorate  the  church  and  congregation 
had  a  rapid  and  healthful  growth.* 

Two  years  after  the  settlement  of  Dr.  Flinn,  A.  W. 
Leland  was  called  to  the  pastorate  of  the  First  Pres- 
byterian Church  of  Charleston.  The  death  of  Dr. 
Buist,  one  of  the  finest  scholars  of  his  day,  had  occurred, 
after  a  pastorate  of  fourteen  years,  in  1808 ;  and  during 
the  closing  period  of  his  ministr}'  he  had  been  at  the 
same  time  PrincijDal  of  the  Charleston  College  and  pas- 
tor of  the  church.  The  Third  Church  was  not  organized 
till  about  the  year  1820;  and  three  years  later  Dr.  Wil- 
liam A.  jMcDowell  was  called  to  take  its  pastoral  charge. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  century,  quite  a  number 
of  churches  within  the  State  were  Congregational  or 
as  reported  to  the  Assembly  at  a  later  period,  Inde- 
pendent Presbj^terian.  Among  them  were  Circular 
Church,  Charleston, — of  which  William  Hollingshead 
and  Isaac  S.  Keith,  both  educated  as  Presbyterians, 
were  collegiate  pastors, — Edisto,  Walterborough,  Wil- 
town,  Stony  Ci'eek,  and  one  or  two  others  on  the  "  mari- 
time islands."  At  what  time  the  pastors  of  these  churches 
united  to  form  a  Congregational  Association  is  uncer- 
tain ;  but  the  Association  itself  continued  to  exist  till 
1822,  Avhen  it  was  dissolved  and  its  members  were 
united  with  the  Presbytery  of  Harmony,  The  churches, 
iiowever,  still  retained  their  previous  ecclesiastical  cha- 
racter, at  least  for  many  years.  The  majority  of  the 
Presbytery  promptly  rejected  the  new  "  basis  of  1837 
and  1838. "2 

I  Dr.  Flinn's  death  occurred  Feb.  24,  1820.  His  successors  were 
A.rtemas  Boies  (1820-23),  Thomas  Charlton  Henry  (1823-27), 
William  Ashmead  (1829),  and  Thomas  Smyth  (1832). 

*  The  facts  are  given  in  a  publication  from  the  pen  of  Dr.  Smyth. 


66  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIAiNISM. 

In  1799,  the  First  Presbytery  of  South  Carolina  was 
divided  in  order  to  form  the  Second  Presbytery.  Tht> 
name  of  each  was  (1809-10)  subsequently  changed, — 
the  first  to  that  of  Harmony,  and  the  last  to  that  of 
South  Carolina.  In  1813,  the  Synod  of  the  Carolinas 
was  divided,  and  the  Synod  of  South  Carolina  and 
Georgia  constituted  from  the  Presbyteries  of  Harmony, 
South  Carolina,  and  Hopewell.  But  in  1821,  such  had 
been  the  growth  of  these  that  from  the  latter  the  Pres- 
bytery of  Georgia  was  constituted,  and  from  the  two 
former  the  Presbyter}^  of  Alabama  in  the  same  year. 

In  1822,  upon  a  proposal  from  the  Presbytery  of 
Harmony,  the  Congregational  Association  of  Charles- 
ton dissolved  itself,  and  its  members  were  received 
(Nov.  19)  into  the  Presbytery.^  A  few  days  later 
(Nov.  23),  these,  with  some  other  members  of  Harmony 


When  the  division  took  place,  he  was  one  of  the  minority  of  the 
Presbytery  who  withdrew,  and  who  still,  as  recognized  by  the 
Synod,  claimed  to  constitute  the  Presbytery.  The  Synod  was 
largely  in  favor  of  the  "New  Basis,"  and  required  the  Presbytery 
to  conform  to  their  order.  By  refusing  to  do  this,  it  was  claimed 
that  the  majority  ceased  to  constitute  the  Presbytery. 

^  Its  principal  churches  were  (he  Circular  Church  of  Charleston, 
those  of  Dorchester  and  James  Island,  probably  those  of  Midway 
and  Savannah  in  Georgia,  besides  which  it  may  have  had  a  few 
others. 

Simms,  the  historian  of  South  Carolina,  says,  "In  1696,  a 
colony  of  Congregationalists,  from  Dorchester  in  Massachusetts, 
ascended  the  Ashley  River  nearly  to  its  head,  and  there  founded  a 
town,  to  which  they  gave  the  name  of  that  which  they  had  left. 
Dorchester  became  a  town  of  some  importance,  having  a  moderately 
large  population  and  considerable  trade.  It  is  now  deserted;  the 
habitations  and  inhabitants  have  alike  vanished  ;  but  the  reverend 
spire,  rising  through  the  forest-trees  that  surround  it,  still  attests 
(1840)  the  place  of  their  worship,  and  where  so  many  of  them  yet 
repose.' — History  of  South  Carolina,  p.  52. 


THE    CAROLINAS    AND    GKORdlA.  lSOO-1820.  67 

Presbytery,  residing  in  and  around  Charleston,  were 
erected  into  the  Presbytery  of  Charleston  Union.' 

During  this  period,  Dr.  Flinn  (1810-20),  of  Charles- 
ton, was  perhaps  the  most  eminent  among  the  Presby- 
terian ministers  of  the  State.  A  graduate  of  NortD 
Carolina  Universit}',  and  a  licentiate  of  Orange  Pres- 
bytery (1800),  his  first  efforts  in  the  pulpit  excited 
great  attention  and  secured  him  reputation  as  one  of 
the  most  popular  candidates  of  the  day.  At  Hills- 
borough, Fayetteville,  and  Camden,  S.C.,  he  had  given 
full  proof  of  his  ministry  before  he  was  called  to  the 
charge  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church  of  Charles- 
ton. As  a  preacher,  he  was  distinguished  by  earnest- 
ness, solemnity,  and  pathos.^  Fully  devoted  to  his 
work,  and  faithful  alike  in  the  pulpit  and  in  pastoral 
duty,  he  gathered  around  him  a  large  congregation, 
who  regai'ded  him  with  warm  affection  and  the  highest 
respect.  The  kindness  of  his  manner  and  the  charm 
of  his  social  intercourse  w^on  the  hearts  of  all  wnth 
whom  he  came  in  contact;  while  his  faithful  presenta- 
tions of  gospel-truth  were  delivered  in  tones  of  affec- 
tion and  in  a  style  which  commended  them  to  the 
acceptance  even  of  opposers. 

Joseph  Alexander,  of  Bullock's  Creek,^  of  fine  talents 
and  accomplishments,  and  popular  as  a  preacher, 
George  Reid,  an  intimate  friend  of  Dr.  Flinn.  and  an 
able  thinker.  Dr.  A.  W.  Leland,  whose  pastorate  of 
the  First  Church  of  Charleston  commenced  in  1813, 
Thomas  C.  Henry,  of  Columbia  (1818),  and  afterward 
(1824)  of  Charleston,  graceful  and  polished  in  manner, 
exemplary  as  a  pastor,  and  rarely  surpassed  as  a  pulpit- 
orator, — these,  and  quite  a  number  of  others,  might  be 
mentioned  as  holding  a  hic-h  rank  among  the  ministers 


1  Baird'fi  Digest,  850.  '  Sprague,  iv. 

»  Sprague,  iii.  331.     He  died  in  1808. 


6b  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIAiNISM. 

of  the  State.    Several,  whose  sphere  of  labor  was  some 
times  Avithin  the  bounds  of  South  Carolina  and  some- 
times within  that  of  Georgia,  might  be  claimed  perhaps 
by  the  former;  but  the  closing  period  of  their  labors- 
was  devoted  to  the  interests  of  the  latter  State. 

The  Presbytery  of  Hopewell  was  erected,  by  a 
division  of  the  Pi-esbytery  of  South  Carolina,  in  1796.' 
It  was  taken  off  from  the  extreme  western  part  of  the 
old  Presbytery,  and  extended  over  Northern  Georgia 
It  had  at  first  but  five  members,  and  for  many  years 
its  growth  was  far  from  rapid.  In  1803,  only  four 
members  are  recoi-ded  as  in  connection  with  it, — Eobert 
M.  Cunningham,  William  Montgomery,  Thomas  New- 
ton, and  Edward  Pharr, — the  last  a  licentiate  of  Orange 
Presbytery  in  1800. 

Ebenezer  Church,  in  Hancock  (Green  county),  was 
organized  in  the  autumn  of  1792  b}'  R.  M.  Cunningham. 
The  church  at  Bethany  was  of  older  date.  As  early 
as  1788*  it  had  been  for  some  time  a  missionary  station 
of  the  North  Carolina  (Orange)  Presbytery.  Several 
other  churches  were  soon  after  organized, — some  of 
them  by  Francis  Cummins,  who  began  his  ministry  at 
Bethel  Church,  York  District,  S.C,  in  1782,  and  fifty 
years  afterward  closed  his  course  at  Greensborough, 
Ga.  In  the  latter  State  twenty-five  years  of  his 
life  were  spent.  But  he  was  not  limited  in  his  labors 
to  a  single  parish.  A  score  of  churches  in  North  Caro- 
lina and  Georgia  considered  him  as  in  some  sense  their 
pastor,  during  nearly  the  whole  period  of  his  ministry. 

Thomas  Goulding,  a  native  of  Midway,  Ga.,  com- 
menced his  ministry   at   White  Bluffs   soon  after  his 

1  Duly  constituted  March,  1797. 

«  It  Avas  in  that  year  that  Moses  Waddel,  subsequently  (1819) 
President  of  the  University  of  Georgia,  received  at  this  place  his 
first  permanent  religious  impressions.  He  was  at  the  time  engaged 
in  teaching,  but  immediately  began  to  study  for  the  ministry. 


THE    CAROLINAS    AND    GEORGIA.    1S00-1S20.  69 

licensure  by  Harmony  Presbj'tcry  in  1813.  Here  he 
remained  till  1822,  when  he  removed  to  Lexington, 
Oglethorpe  county,  completing  at  the  latter  place  a 
pastorate  of  eight  yeai's.  His  later  years  were  spent 
first  at  Columbia  as  Theological  Professor,  and  sub- 
sequently at  Columbus  as  pastor  of  the  church. 

At  Alcovia,  Edward  Pharr*  was  settled  for  a  long 
period.  He  was  one  of  the  early,  but  not  original, 
members  of  the  Presbyter}^,  and  was  licensed  to  preach 
by  Orange  Presbytery  in  1800.  The  church  of  Athens 
originated  in  the  labors  of  Dr.  Eobert  Finley,  who  in 
1817  accepted  the  invitation  to  the  Presidency  of  the 
University  of  Georgia.  The  zeal  and  energy  with 
which  he  devoted  himself  to  collect  funds  for  an  institu- 
tion "  at  its  last  gasp"  proved  too  much  for  his  already 
debilitated  frame;  and  he  sank  under  the  attack  of 
disease,  Oct.  3,  1817. 

Augusta,  which  has  been  mentioned  in  connection 
with  the  Presbytery  of  South  Carolina,  was  subse- 
quently transferred  to  the  care  of  Hopewell  Presbytery, 
and  in  1820  this  Presbytery  numbered  under  its  care 
some  twenty  churches,  mostly  in  the  northeastern  por- 
tion of  the  State. '^ 

Although  the  Presbytery  of  Georgia  was  not  formed 
till  1821,  several  of  the  churches  which  constituted  it 
had  been  in  existence  for  several  years.  In  1823,  these 
were  six  in  number, — Augusta,  St.  Mary's,  Mt.  Zion,  Da- 
rien,  Louisville,  Clinton.  Within  a  short  time  after,  the 
churches  of  Savannah  and  of  St.  Augustine,  as  well  as  of 

1  Sometimes  written  Farr. 

2  There  is  no  report  of  the  churches  in  the  minutes  of  the  Assembly 
until  1825.  At  that  time  they  were  Grcensborough  and  Bethany, 
Mt.  Zion  and  Eatonton,  Athens,  Alcovia,  Madison  Second  and  Third, 
Gwinnet  Court-House,  Sandy  Creek,  Washington  and  Salem,  Lin- 
colnton,  Lexington  and  Cherokee  Corner,  Augusta,  Thyatira,  Hall 
Court-House,  Hebron,  Louisville,  Mulberry,  and  Newhope. 


70  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

Midway,  Avcre  received  under  the  care  of  the  Presbjter5\ 
The  last  was  Congregational  in  its  form  of  government, 
and  derived  its  existence  from  Puritan  immigration  at 
a  very  early  date. 

In  October,  1695,  a  church  was  organized  in  Dor- 
chester, Mass.,  "with  a  design  to  remove  to  Carolina, 
to  encourage  the  settlement  of  churches  and  the  pro- 
motion of  religion  in  the  Southern  plantations."     Em- 
barking, after   solemn   religious    services,  the  church 
arrived,  with  its  pastor,  in  Carolina  on  the  20th  of  De- 
cember, and  formed  a  settlement  on  the  Ashley  Eiver, 
eighteen  miles  from  Charleston.     To  this,  in  memory 
of  their  former  home,  they  gave  the  name  of  Dorchester. 
But  the  settlement  proved  unhealthy,  and  the  quantity 
of  land  too  small;  and  on  May  11,  1752,  three  persons 
were   sent  to  Georgia  to  select  a  place  to  which  the 
church,  or  a  portion  of  it,  might  remove.     The  place 
selected  was  called  Midway,  from  its  supposed   equal 
distance  between  the  Ogeechee  and  Altamaha.     From 
the  Council  of  Georgia  a  grant  of  thirty-one  thousand 
nine  hundred  and  fifty  acres  of  ground  was  secured, 
and,  after  many  misfortunes  by  land  and  sea,  the  colony, 
in  March,  1754,  located  in  their  new  home.     The  name 
of  the  pastor  was  John  Osgood,  a  graduate  of  Harvard 
in  1733,  and  he  removed  with  them.    A  log  church  was 
immediately  built,  which,  three  years  later,  was  replaced 
by  one  larger  and  more  commodious.     Mr.  Osgood  died 
in  1773,  and   in   1776,  Moses  Allen,  of  Northampton, 
Mass.,  succeeded  to  the  pastoral  charge.^    In  ISTovember, 
1778,  the  society  Avas  entirely  broken  up  and  dispersed 
b}'  the  British  army  from  Florida,  under  General  Provost, 
and  the  house  of  worship,  as  well  as  nearly  every  dwell- 
ing-house in  the  settlement,  was  burned.    On  the  return 
of  peace  the  scattered  inhabitants  re-collected  in  Mid- 

'  Sprague's  Annals,  ii.  240. 


THE    CAROLINAS    AND    GEORQIA,    lSUO-1820.  71 

way,  and  became  again  established  in  their  former  righta 
and  privileges.  The  pastoral  services  of  Abiel  Holmes' 
were  secured  in  1784,  and  on  the  failure  of  his  health, 
two  years  later,  his  place  was  supplied  for  a  time  by 
Jedediah  Morse.  A  constant  succession  of  pastors  was 
kept  up,  and  an  academy  was  established  and  sustained 
to  2:)romote  the  cause  of  learning.  Years  before  the 
church  came  under  the  care  of  Presbytery,  it  had  fur- 
nished from  its  own  membership  several  pastors  for 
Presbyterian  churches  within  the  State. 

The  church  of  Savannah  had  been  long  in  existence. 
It  dates  pi'obabl}^  from  the  time  of  Whitefield.  In  1760, 
J.  J.  Zubly  commenced  his  pastorate,  which  extended 
to  1778,  when,  on  account  of  his  political  sentiments, 
he  was  exiled  from  the  State.  In  1801,  Eobert  Smith, 
who  had  previously  been  settled  at  Schenectady,  N.Y., 
was  its  pastor,^  and  Avas  succeeded  in  1806  by  the  gifted 
Henry  KoUock,  whose  pastorate  continued  till  his  death, 
in  1819. 

The  church  of  St.  Augustine  was  organized  in  1824, 
and  owed  its  existence  to  the  labors  of  Dr.  William 
McWhirr,  the  father  and  founder  of  the  church  of 
Darien  (1809). 

Several  of  the  churches  in  the  central  portion  of  the 
eastern  part  of  the  State  remained  still  in  connection 
with  Harmony  Presbj^tery  of  South  Carolina,  so  that 
at  the  time  of  the  erection  of  Georgia  Presbytery  the 
Presbj'terian  strength  of  the  State  was  divided  between 
the  three  Presbyteries  of  Hopewell,  Harmony,  and 
Georgia.  In  1820,  the  number  of  Presbyterian  churches 
Avithin  the  State  limits  could  not  have  been  far  from 
twenty-five  or  thirty. 

But  already  several  distinguished  ministers  had  de- 
voted themselves  lo  extend  in  this  field  the  bounds  of 

1  Author  of  "  American  Annals."       *  Dwight's  Travels,  ii.  490. 


72  lIlfcTOKY    OF    I'RKSBYTKRIANISM. 

the  Church.  McWhirr  at  the  south,  performing  no 
email  share  of  missionary  labor,  and  for  the  most  part 
with  scant  remuneration,  Francis  Cummins  at  the 
north,  the  patriarch  of  Hopewell  Presbytery,  Gould- 
ing,  a  native  Georgian,  and  a  man  of  great  sagacity 
and  energy,  fully  devoted  to  the  cause  of  religion  and 
learning,  and  mourning  over  the  apathy  which  he  met 
around  him,  Moses  Waddel,  ultimately  President  of  the 
State  University,  and  proving  himself  fully  equal  to 
every  emergency  which  he  was  called  to  meet,  a  man 
of  shrewd  insight,  scrupulous  conscientiousness,  un- 
wearied application,  and  devoted  piety,  John  Brown, 
his  predecessor  as  President  (1811-19),  a  model  teacher, 
loving  and  beloved  of  his  pupils,  while  known  among 
his  friends  as  "  Our  Apostle  John," — such  Avere  some  of 
the  men  who  grace  the  early  history  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  within  the  State,  and  to  whom  its  subsequent 
prosperity  is  largely  due. 

While  at  the  North  and  in  portions  of  the  West  the 
missionary  work  of  the  Church  was  largely  in  the  hands 
of  the  Assembly, — more  especially  after  the  erection  of 
the  Synod  of  Kentucky, — it  was  left  at  the  South  and 
Southwest  in  the  hands  of  the  Sj'nod  of  the  Carolinas. 
At  the  sessions  of  this  body  in  1800,  missionaries  were 
appointed  to  visit  the  Western  country  as  far  as  Natchez 
on  the  Mississippi ;  and,  when  their  report  was  made  in 
the  following  year,  the  Synod  were  "  happy  to  find  that, 
by  the  blessing  of  Divine  Providence,  the  good  conse- 
quences of  that  mission  appear  to  have  exceeded  their 
most  sanguine  anticipations."  Encouraged  by  the  result, 
the  Synod  took  measures  to  bring  the  subject  before  all 
their  congregations  and  to  obtain  collections  for  the 
support  of  missionaries.  William  Montgomerj^,  the 
father  of  the  Mississippi  Presbytery,  but  at  this  time  a 
member  of  Hopewell  Presbytery,  and  John  Matthews, 
subsequent]}"  of  Indiana,  were  appointed  missionaries 


THE    CAROLINAS    AND    GEORGIA,    lSOO-1820.  78 

to  the  Mississippi  Territory;  and  Tliomas  Hall,  a  licen- 
tiate of  Concord  Presbytery,  M^as  directed  to  itinerate 
through  the  Carolinas  and  Georgia  for  eight  months.^ 

In  the  following  year  Mr.  Matthews  was  appointed 
a  missionary  to  Natchez,  and  with  him  was  associated 
Hugh  Shaw,  a  licentiate  of  Orange  Presbyter}^.  The 
missionary  work  of  the  Synod  received  increased  atten- 
tion, and  in  1802  a  commission  of  the  Synod  was 
appointed  to  whom  it  was  given  in  charge.  In  the 
following  year,  eight  missionaries  were  appointed  to 
itinerate  within  the  bounds  of  the  Synod,  one  of  whom, 
William  C.  Davis,  was  to  act  until  the  next  meeting  of 
Synod  as  missionary  to  the  Catawba  Indians. 

The  increasing  demand  for  missionaries  drew  atten- 
tion to  the  claims  of  ministerial  education.  It  was, 
therefore  (1802),  enjoined  upon  each  Presbytery  to 
establish  within  its  bounds  one  or  more  grammar- 
schools,  except  where  such  schools  had  been  already 
established ;  and  each  minister  was  to  make  it  his  busi- 
ness to  select  and  encourage  youths  of  promising  piety 
and  talent,  who  might  be  expected  to  turn  their  atten- 
tion to  the  ministry. 

New  members  were  fz'om  time  to  time  added  to  the 
list  of  the  members  of  Synod,  but  the  supply  of  laborers 
was  quite  insufficient  to  meet  the  demand.  In  1802, 
the  year  of  the  great  revival,  the  accession  was  most 
remarkable.  Leonard  Prather  was  received  by  the  Pres- 
bytery of  Orange  from  the  Methodist  Church,  and  Daniel 
Brown,*  Andrew  Flinn,  Malcolm  McNair,  Ezekiel  B.  Cur- 
rie,  and  John  Matthews  were  likewise  ordained.  John 
Cousar,  Geoi-ge  Eeid,  and  Thomas  Neely  were  reported 
as  licentiates  of  the  First  Presbytery  of  South  Carolina, 
Thomas  Hall  a  licentiate  of  Concord,  Edward  Pharr 
of  Hopewell,  and  Hugh  Dickson  of  the  Second  South 

1  Foote's  North  Carolina.     ^  Report  for  1803  says  Duncan  Brown. 
Vol.  II.— r 


<4  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERiANISM. 

Carolina.  Other  licentiates  of  this  period  were  Hugh 
Shaw,  Murdoch  Murphy,  Murdoch  McMillan,  Eobert 
Dobbins,  and  Benjamin  Montgomery.  At  a  still  later 
period,^  the  licentiates  within  the  bounds  of  the  Synod 
were  Andrew  and  Joseph  Caldwell,  Samuel  Paisley,  W. 
B.  Meroney,  John  Mclntyre,  Allen  McDougal,  Davis 
Parks,  William  Barr,  John  Gloucester,  and  others. 

As  a  general  thing,  immediately  after  their  licensure, 
they  were  sent  forth  as  missionaries.  A  meagre  salary 
was  given  them;  for  the  churches  from  which  the  ne- 
cessary^ funds  were  raised  were  few  and  feeble.  But  it 
sufficed  to  furnish  them  with  "  scrip  and  staflf  j"  and,  thus 
equipped,  they  were  commissioned  to  take  practical 
lessons  in  preaching,  by  itinerating  in  the  wilderness, 
looking  after  the  scattered  sheep,  supplying  the  vacant 
congregations,  and  addressing  such  assemblies  as  they 
could  draw  together.  It  was  a  rough  experience.  It 
required  men  of  energy  and  vigor,  mental  and  physical, 
as  well  as  no  small  measure  of  self-denying  love  for 
souls,  to  meet  it.  But  the  training  in  such  a  school 
was  worth  the  price  of  tuition;  and  it  brought  into  the 
field  some  of  the  most  efficient  and  successful  ministers 
of  the  day. 

From  year  to  year  the  S^'nod  continued  or  renewed 
their  missionary  appointments.  Its  field  extended 
westward  to  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi,  and  the  men 
who  were  most  eminent  in  the  service  were  Hall, 
Smylie,  McNair,  Brown,  Barr,  Currie,  and  Flinn.  In 
1811,  the  Synod  arranged  to  resign  the  charge  of  the 
missionary  business  into  the  hands  of  the  Assembly, 
with  the  appointments  and  measures  of  which  the 
Presbyteries  might  individually  co-operate.  The  lack 
of  candidates  of  which  the  Southern  churches  found 
reason  to  complain,  operated  against  the  prosecution 

1  1807-08. 


THE    CAROl.INAS    AND    GEORGIA,    1800-1820.  75 

by  the  Synod  of  the  missionaiy  Avork.^  In  spite  of  all 
the  efi\)rts  of  the  Synod,  the  cause  of  ministerial  edu- 
cation was  in  a  languishing  state. 

In  no  part  of  the  land,  during  the  period  under  review, 
were  the  most  unexceptionable  features  of  the  great 
Kentucky  revival  more  largely  reproduced  than  in  por- 
tions of  the  field  occupied  b}^  the  Synod  of  the  Carolinas, 
and  especially  within  the  bounds  of  Orange  and  Con- 
cord Presbyteries,  in  the  central  and  western  parts  of 
North  Carolina.  It  was  here  that  McGready,  before 
his  removal  to  Kentucky,  had  lived  and  labored;  and 
tlie  memory  of  his  presence  and  words,  as  well  as  the 
fruits  of  his  miniiiitrj',  still  remained.  The  report  of 
what  hud  taken  place  in  the  Cumberland  region  was 
brought  back  across  the  mountains,  and  excited  every- 
where the  deepest  interest. 

There  had  been  already — subsequent  to  the  close  of 
the  war — two  marked  seasons  of  revival  in  this  region. 
The  first  began  in  Iredell  county ;  the  second  commenced 
at  a  period  when  the  prospects  of  religion  were  exceed- 
ingly dark,  and  when  immorality  and  vice  had  come  in 
like  a  flood.  The  leading  instrument  in  the  work  was 
McGready  himself,  who  on  his  return  from  Pennsjd- 
vania  passed  through  the  scenes  of  the  great  revival 
in  Virginia.  His  glowing  spirit  quickly  caught,  and 
was  ready  to  communicate,  the  flame.  Wherever  he 
went,  he  preached  with  a  fervor  and  pungency  peculiar 
to  himself.  Among  his  congregations  there  were  close 
searchings  of  heart  and  solemn  attention.  At  Hawfields 
and  Cross-Eoads  (Orange  county)  the  revival  broke  out 
under  his  preaching  in  1791,  extending,  and  continuing 


1  In  1822,  Dr.  Goulding,  of  Georgia,  said,  "TLero  are  but  two 
native  Georgians  in  the  Presbyterian  ministry  of  this  State."  The 
two  were  Goulding  himself  and  Quartermann,  of  Midway.  Dr. 
Goulding  thus  informed  the  author  of  this  note.  F. 


76  HISXOKY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

for  several  years,  in  what  is  now  the  upper  part  ol 
Orange  Presbytery. 

In  1796,  McGready  removed  to. Kentucky,  lingering 
on  his  way  to  preach  for  a  few  months  in  Eastern  Ten- 
nessee. At  length,  in  1799-1800,  the  great  Western 
revival  commenced.  The  fame  of  it  spread  over  the 
whole  land;  but  nowhere  did  it  command  more  atten- 
tion or  excite  deeper  interest  than  in  the  region  where 
McGready  had  previously  labored,  and  where,  as  a  Bo- 
anerges, his  stern  denunciations  of  sin  were  yet  vividly 
remembered.  At  Ilawfields  and  Cross-Eoads,  William 
Paisley  had  succeeded  McGready,  and  under  his  minis- 
trations a  communion-season  was  held  at  Cross-Eoads 
in  August,  1801.  Dr.  Caldwell  and  Messrs.  Prather. 
Shaw,  and  Ciirrie,  the  two  last  recent  licentiates  of 
Orange  Presbytery,  assisted  upon  the  occasion.  On 
the  days  preceding  the  Sabbath, — for  the  meetings 
uniformly  commenced  on  Friday, — and*  during  the 
administration  of  the  ordinance,  nothing  unusual  or 
remarkable  occurred.  There  was  deep  solemnity,  as 
well  as  earnest  prayerfulness,  but  nothing  more  to  in- 
dicate that  a  blessing  was  at  hand. 

But  on  the  next  day,  as  the  pastor  arose  to  dismiss 
the  large  congregation  which  had  gathered  to  the  scene, 
— many  of  them  from  a  great  distance, — it  was  his  pur- 
pose first  to  say  a  few  words  expressive  of  his  grief 
that  no  advance  apparently  had  been  made  in  bringing 
sinners  to  God.  But,  overcome  by  his  emotions,  he 
found  himself  unable  to  speak,  and  sat  down.  A  solemn 
silence  pervaded  the  assembly.  In  a  few  moments  he 
rose  again,  but,  before  he  had  uttered  a  word,  a  young 
man  just  from  the  scenes  of  revival  in  Tennessee,  who 
during  the  meetings  had  had  much  to  say  to  others  of 
what  he  had  witnessed  of  the  work  of  God  in  that 
State,  raised  up  his  hands,  and  exclaimed,  "  Stand  still 
and  see  the  salvation  of  God."     In  a  few  momentb  the 


THE    CAROLINAS    AND    GKOROIA,    1800-1820.  77 

pilence  was  broken  b}^  sobs,  groans,  and  cries,  which 
rose  commingled  from  all  parts  of  the  house.  There 
was  no  longer  any  thought  of  dismissing  the  congre- 
gation. The  remainder  of  the  day  was  spent  in  prayer, 
exhortation,  singing,  and  personal  conversation;  and  it 
was  midnight  before  the  people  could  be  persuaded  to 
return  to  their  homes.  The  awakening  continued  to 
extend,  and  the  converts  were  quite  numerous. 

This  was  in  August.  In  October  the  sacrament  was 
administered  at  Hawfields,  the  other  congregation  under 
Mr.  Paisley's  charge.  From  the  first,  there  were  mani- 
festations of  deep  feeling.  The  report  of  the  previous 
communion-season  had  been  widely  spread,  and  had 
draAvn  together  an  unusual  number.  The  people  from 
Cross-Eoads  were  present,  in  the  fervor  of  excited  ex- 
pectation. The  meeting  continued  for  five  consecutive 
days.  Persons  from  a  distance,  who  had  come  in  their 
wagons,  remained  over-night  on  the  ground.  With  the 
exception  of  short  intervals  for  refreshment  during  the 
day,  and  a  few  hours  of  sleep  at  night,  the  various  reli- 
gious exercises  were  continued  w^ithout  interruj)tion. 
The  assemblage  had  become,  in  fact,  a  camp-meeting. 
It  was  the  first  in  the  whole  region.  But  the  impres- 
sion made  was  deep  and  lasting,  and  its  apparent 
results  encouraged  other  appointments.  These  were 
successively  made  until  the  camp-meeting  became  a 
kind  of  established  institution  in  connection  with  the 
still  extending  revival. 

The  excitement  spread  rapidly  over  the  upper  part 
of  Orange  Presbytery.  At  the  close  of  1801,  and  at 
the  commencement  of  1802,  its  influence  began  to  be 
felt  west  of  the  Yadkin,  and  within  the  bounds  of  Con- 
cord Presbytery,  as  well  as  in  the  eastern  portion  of  the 
State  around  Fayetteville.  Early  in  January,  Dr.  Cald- 
well, of  Guilfoi'd,  appointed  a  meeting  near  Bell's  Mills, 
on   Deep  River,  in  Randolph   county,  and   invited   the 


78  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANlSM. 

ministers  west  of  the  Yadliin  to  attend.  But  they  had 
doubts  and  fears  in  regard  to  the  work,  from  their  dis- 
trust of  the  unusual  bodily  exercises  by  which  already 
to  some  extent  it  was  characterized.  Yet  four  ministers 
and  about  one  hundred  of  their  people  accepted  the 
invitation.  They  came  to  witness  and  to  scrutinize  the 
work.  Dr.  McCorkle,  strongly  prejudiced  against  the 
*'  exercises,"  took  some  of  his  conti-reecation  with  him 
designing  merely  to  be  a  spectator  of  the  proceedings. 
L.  F.  Wilson,  from  Iredell  county,  Kilpatrick,  of  Third 
Creek,  and  James  Hall,  of  Bethany,  each  accompanied 
by  members  of  his  congregation,  were  present.  On 
Friday  evening  the  preachers  reached  the  ground.  On 
Saturday  morning  the  people  in  their  wagons  came 
pouring  in.  The  meeting  proved  to  be  one  of  great 
excitement.  All  the  companies,  one  after  another,  were 
more  or  less  affected.  The  doubts  of  all  the  ministers 
but  Dr.  McCorkle,  in  regard  to  the  genuineness  of  the 
work,  were  dispelled.  He  still  held  out, — when  a  mes- 
sage reached  him,  with  a  request  from  his  son,  who  had 
been  struck  down,  to  come  and  pray  for  him.  He  went, 
knelt  by  his  side,  and  began  to  pray;  but,  as  he  prayed, 
his  soul  seemed  melted  within  him,  his  heart  glowed 
with  longing  desires  for  the  conversion  of  the  whole 
world,  his  doubts  and  scrujjles  gave  jjlace  to  conviction, 
and,  notwithstanding  the* bodily  exercises,  he  confessed 
his  sympathy  with  the  revival,  and  gave  in  his  adhesion 
to  it  as  a  genuine  work  of  the  Spirit  of  God. 

The  ministers  and  people  from  the  other  side  of  the 
Yadkin  who  had  attended  the  meeting  had  travelled 
from  fifty  to  eighty  miles.  They  carried  back  with  them 
the  spirit  of  the  scenes  in  which  they  had  mingled. 
They  had  witnessed  what  they  dared  ascribe  only  to  a 
divine  power.  "Impressions  ran  through  the  assembly 
like  fire  along  a  train  of  powder."  The  greater  portion 
of  the  young  people  were  '-religiously  exercised,"  and 


THE    CAROLINAS    AND    GEORGIA,    1800-1S20.  79 

at  times  during  the  meeting  nothing  was  to  be  heard 
but  cries  for  mei'cy.  Nor  was  the  influence  of  the 
occasion  confined  to  those  who  were  present.  As  these 
returned  to  their  homes,  "  the  work  broke  out  like  fire" 
in  differept  places.  Opposition  was  silenced.  Some  of 
the  most  obstinate  were  brought  to  submission.  From 
this  time  the  revival  continued  to  spread  rapidly  in  all 
directions,  and  "  general  meetings,"  as  they  were  called, 
began  to  be  held,  at  which  thousands  were  present.^ 

On  Friday,  January  22,  1802,  one  of  these  was  ap- 
pointed within  the  bounds  of  Concord  Presbytery,  at  a 
place  eight  miles  south  of  Bethany,  the  residence  of 
Dr.  James  Hall.  It  was  attended  by  eight  Presbyterian, 
one  Baptist,  and  three  Methodist  clergymen.  More 
than  one  hundred  wagons,  besides  chairs  and  carriages, 
were  on  the  ground,  while  many  came  to  the  meeting 
on  horseback.  The  number  of  persons  present  was 
probably  from  one  thousand  five  hundred  to  two  thou- 
sand. The  place  selected  for  the  meeting  was  a  solitary 
grove,  remote  from  any  house.  The  weather  was  quite 
unfavorable.  A  moderate  rain  continued  from  the 
commencement  of  the  exercises  until  Saturday  morning, 
when  it  greatly  increased  and  was  followed  by  sleet 
and  snow  and  a  still  greater  fall  of  rain.  It  was  ex- 
pected that  the  assembly  Avould  disperse;  for,  although 
most  were  provided  with  tents,  the  rain  and  cold  ren- 
dered the  weather  exceedingly  inclement.  At  this 
juncture,  one  of  the  ministers  took  his  stand  in  a  large 
tent  and  began  to  preach.  Dr.  Hall,  at  a  convenient 
distance,  followed  his  example.  Crowds  immediately 
collected,  and  when  the  ministers  had  concluded  their 
discourses  they  were  followed  by  other  speakers.  The 
exercises  continued  till  near  dark,  and  the  number  of 
those  who  had  been  previously  affected  was   largely 

'  New  York  Miss.  Magazine,  iii.  170. 


80  HISTORY    OF    TRESBYTERIANISM. 

increased.  Quite  a  number  fell.  Not  less  than  a  dozet 
might  be  seen  at  a  time  Ij^ing  in  one  tent, — some  speech- 
less and  motionless,  others  with  every  breath  crj^ing 
for  mercy,  and  some  rising  with  acclamations  of  joy 
and  praise. 

On  Sabbath  the  Lord's  Supper  was  to  be  celebrated. 
But  about  the  time  that  service  was  to  begin,  "such  a 
torrent  of  cries  burst  forth"  that  it  was  found  vain 
to  attempt  the  administration  of  the  ordinance.  The 
ministers  mingled  with  the  multitude,  who  divided  into 
parties  convenient  for  hearing  a  single  speaker.  The 
exhortations  were  continued  till  twilight,  and,  even 
after  they  had  withdrawn  from  their  tents,  religious 
exercises  were  continued  till  after  midnight.  Monday 
presented  a  repetition  of  the  scenes  of  the  preceding 
da}" ;  but  on  Monday  night  the  number  affected  was 
greater  than  ever  before.  On  Tuesda}^  morning,  the 
provisions  and  forage  having  been  consumed,  the  as- 
sembly was  dismissed. 

On  the  5th  of  Februar}'^  another  meeting  was  com- 
menced at  Morgantown,  sixty  miles  west.  At  this, 
six  Presbyterian,  one  Baptist,  and  six  Methodist 
preachers  were  present.  The  region  around  was  near 
the  mountains,  thinly  inhabited,  and  scantily  supplied 
with  religious  privileges.  But  here  the  scenes  of  the 
former  meeting  were  repeated.  The  first  to  be  visibly 
affected  were  three  men,  one  nearly  sixty  years  of  age, 
and  all  of  them  conspicuous  characters.  Others  fell  in 
considerable  numbers, — some  of  them  not  under  the 
preaching,  but  while  sitting  in  their  tents  or  listening 
to  the  singing  of  hymns.  For  many  months  previous, 
there  had  appeared  in  the  public  mind  a  tenderness 
and  susceptibility  which  had  rarely  been  witnessed 
before,  and  which  seemed  to  prejDare  the  way  for  this 
remai'kable  outburst  of  religious  feeling. 

On   the  12th   of  March   the  third  general  meeting 


THE    CAROLINAS    AND    GEORGIA,    1800-1820.  81 

was  held.  It  was  attended  by  foui'teen  Presbyterian, 
two  Baptist,  five  Metliodist,  two  Dutch  Calvinist,  and 
two  Episcopal  clergymen.  Dr.  Hall  pronounced  the 
assembly  by  far  the  most  numerous  and  solemn  that  he 
had  ever  beheld.  On  tlie  first  day  the  proportion  of 
persons  aifected  was  much  greater  than  ever  before. 
More  than  two  hundred  wagons,'  besides  carriages, 
were  on  the  ground.  The  communicants  numbered 
about  six  hundred,  and  the  entire  assembly  must  have 
been  four  times  as  numerous.  Thi*ee  stands  were  oc- 
cupied for  preaching,  and  were  surrounded  by  assem- 
blies "  vastly  large."  The  work  continued  steadily  to 
increase  in  power  till  two  o'clock  on  Tuesday  morning, 
and,  "  moderately  speaking,  there  must  have  been 
several  hundreds"  who  were  affected. 

The  fourth  general  meeting  was  appointed  on  Friday, 
March  27,  and  was  held  at  New  Providence  Church, 
under  the  charge  of  Mr.  Wallis,  in  Mecklenburg  county, 
about  twelve  miles  southeast  of  Charlotte,  and  some- 
what more  than  seventy  miles  north  of  Camden.  The 
encampment  was  on  a  beautiful  mount,  easy  of  ascent 
from  every  direction,  and  more  than  half  surrounded 
by  a  little  crystal  stream,  which  afforded  water  suffi- 
cient for  the  people  and  horses.  It  was  clothed  with  a 
thick  growth  of  giant  oaks,  with  very  little  under- 
growth. By  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  it  was 
swept  clear  of  timber,  the  tents  were  pitched,  the  fuel 
was  gathered,  and  thousands,  with  their  covered  wagons 
and  stretched  canvas  arranged  in  regular  lines  of  en- 
campment, covered  the  summit. 

The  services  then  commenced.  A  holy  fervor  glowed 
on  the  faces  of  the  ministers,  and  a  grave  solemnity 
rested  on  the  countenances  of  the  peoj^le.  A  loud  and 
lofty  song  of  praise, — like  "  the  sound  of  many  waters," 
— swelled  by  the  united  voices  of  the  great  assembly, 
and  waking  the  echoes  of  the  neighboring  hills,  rose  to 


82  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

heaven.  Prayer  was  then  offered;  and  as  the  words  of 
the  text,  "  This  is  the  house  of  Grod,  this  is  the  gate  of 
heaven,"  were  uttered,  it  seemed  but  the  instinctive 
expression  of  the  feelings  of  every  heart. 

During  the  evening,  and  throughout  the  greater  part 
of  the  niglit,  there  were  exercises  of  singing,  prayer, 
and  exhortation  in  tlie  several  tents.  The  novelty  of 
the  scene,  the  fervor  of  devotion,  and  the  deptli  of  feel- 
ing so  affected  the  multitude  that  few  closed  their  eyes 
in  sleep  to  the  dawn  of  day.  Before  the  services  com- 
menced on  Saturday  morning,  three  persons  were 
struck  down.  At  the  close  of  the  forenoon  sermons 
several  more  were  similarly  affected;  and  the  number 
continued  to  increase  until  the  close  of  the  meetings. 
Seventeen  ministers  were  present,  and  about  five  hun- 
dred communicants  participated  in  the  sacrament  of 
the  Lord's  Supper,  which  was  administered  in  the 
midst  of  the  camp  without  noise  or  disturbance.  At 
the  same  time  pi-eaching  was  going  forward  at  three 
different  stations.  At  the  close  of  the  services  on  Mon- 
day, continuing  as  they  did  till  midnight,  there  were 
about  one  hundred  persons  prostrate  on  the  ground, 
the  greater  part  of  whom  were  shouting  aloud,  and 
many  of  them  in  the  most  earnest  manner  entreating 
for  mercy.  While  Dr.  Hall  was  at  prayer,  about  forty 
fell  at  the  same  instant.  It  was  estimated  that  the 
whole  assemblage  amounted  to  at  least  five  thousand 
persons.  How  large  a  number  were  "  stricken"  could 
not  be  ascertained.  Besides  those  aftected  at  the 
preaching-stations,  many  were  taken  in  their  tents 
many  more  in  their  wagons,  and  a  great  many  in  the 
woods  while  at  prayer  or  on  their  return  to  their 
homes. 

Still  other  meetings  were  held ;  but  their  general 
features  were  substantially  the  same  with  those  already 
described.  The  scenes  they  pre.sented  were  pronounced 


THE   CAROLINAS    AND    GEORGIA,    1800-1820.  83 

"truly  august  and  solemn,"  especially  in  the  night- 
season.  When  the  fires  were  lighted  up,  the  whole 
camp  was  illuminated,  and  revealed  the  canvas  tents, 
the  overhanging  boughs  of  the  trees  left  for  shelter, 
and  the  eager  listening  groups,  while  the  air  was  laden 
with  solemn  sounds  which  seemed  more  impressive 
amid  the  strangeness  of  the  scene.  Lofty  songs  of 
praise,  pathetic  prayers,  thrilling  appeals,  stirring  ex- 
hortations, groans  or  sighs  of  keen  mental  anguish, 
loud  cries  for  mercy,  or  rapturous  shouts  of  "  glory" 
and  thanksgiving  from  those  who  had  found  relief,  were 
heard  from  every  quarter  of  the  encampment,  and  yet 
"  with  as  little  confusion  and  disturbance  as  the  people 
of  a  city  pursue  their  various  occupations  in  the  busy 
scenes  of  life."*  Every  object,  every  utterance,  seemed 
to  conspire  to  deepen  the  solemnity.  All  that  might 
interfere  to  distract  attention  was  shrouded  in  dark- 
ness. The  devout  spirit  seemed  to  realize  the  imme- 
diate presence  of  Jehovah,  the  presence  of  Him  whose 
temj)le  is  all  space,  and  beneath  its  dome  of  stars,  with 
fellow-worshippers  around  him,  bowed  with  reverence 
and  awe  appropriate  to  a  "  house  not  made  with  hands.'' 
The  imjaression  made  upon  those  who  had  been  drawn 
thither  by  curiosity  was  one  which  they  could  not 
shake  off.  It  was  almost  impossible  for  them  to  sneer 
at  what  they  witnessed.  Those  who  came  to  mock 
often  "  remained  to  pray."  The  most  hardened  cases 
were  the  very  ones  whose  "  exercises"  were  most 
marked.  In  some  instances  not  more  than  one  in  five, 
in  others  not  more  than  one  in  ten,  of  those  who  were 

1  Letter  of  Dr.  John  Brown,  New  York  Miss.  Mag.,  iii.  182. 
The  fullest  account  of  the  revival  which  I  have  met  with  is  in  a 
pamphlet  of  thirty-six  pages  16mo,  entitled  "A  Narrative  of  a 
most  extraordinary  Work  of  Religion  in  North  Carolina.  By  Rev. 
James  Hall.  Also  a  Collection  of  Interesting  Letters  from  Rev. 
J.  McCorkle."     Elizabethtown,  1803. 


84  HISTORY    OP    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

supposed  to  have  been  converted,  were  in  the  least 
phj'sically  affected.  But  where  a  person  had  been 
noted  for  his  opposition  or  his  incredulity,  he  was  one 
of  the  most  j)robable  candidates  for  the  "  exercises." 

And  yet  there  was  no  stereotyped  formula  of  ex- 
perience. While  all  seemed  to  be  awed  and  impressed, 
those  who  fell  did  not  always  find  peace.  Some  persons 
were  struck  down  successively  as  many  as  five  or  six 
times  before  they  obtained  relief,  while  others  even 
then  did  not  attain  it.  In  numerous  instances  the  effect 
of  the  stroke  was  to  take  away  the  power  of  speech 
and  motion,  and  frequently  it  was  not  recovered  for 
several  hours.  Toward  the  last,  however,  persons 
would  pray  in  whispers  and  then  rise  in  triumph.  In 
other  instances  the  control  of  the  body  seemed  lost, 
while  the  power  of  speech  was  retained.  Persons  thus 
affected  would  cry  out,  "  Oh,  the  hardness  of  my  heart !" 
"  Oh,  my  unbelief!"  As  hope  gleamed  upon  them  from 
the  gospel,  or  they  gained  clearer  views  of  the  Saviour, 
they  poured  their  souls  forth  in  pathetic  pleadings,  ex- 
claiming, "Oh  for  one  grain  of  faith!"  or,  "Blessed 
Jesus,  what  a  Saviour  art  thou !"  sonietimes  varying 
these  for  similar  expressions.  When  the  soul  at  length 
could  feel  that  it  had  obtained  relief,  its  joy  found  utter- 
ance first  in  whisperings,  and  then  in  shouts,  or  even 
in  raptures  of  praise  and  irrepressible  ecstasies  of 
*'  G-lory,  glory  to  God  !" 

Yet  relief  was  not  always  obtained.  In  many  in- 
stances those  who  were  affected  gradually  recovered 
their  strength,  but  still  walked  in  darkness.  Some 
even  went  back  to  their  former  ways,  whilst  others, 
after  weeks  or  even  months  of  darkness,  or  after  re- 
peated "  strokes,"  at  last  found  peace.  As  a  general 
thing,  the  loss  and  the  recovery  of  power  over  the 
limbs  were  gradual.  During  the  state  of  helplessness 
the  person  ceased  to  weep,  the  features  of  his  face  grew 


THE    CAROLINAS    AND    GEORGIA,    1800-1820 


85 


calm  and  composed,  his  pulse  became  less  rapid,  his 
extremities  cold,  his  voice  more  and  more  feeble  till  it 
ceased,  and  the  eyes  were  nearly  closed.  After  an  in- 
terval sometimes  of  less  than  an  hour,  sometimes  of 
far  more  than  that  period,  speech  and  motion  would 
return.  The  countenance  would  beam  with  pleasure 
as  peace  entered  the  soul.  The  ecstasy  that  usually 
followed  was  of  but  brief  duration.  Yet,  calm,  mild, 
sedate,  the  subject  of  this  experience  showed  for  days 
the  evidence  in  his  features  of  his  inward  joy,  and  in 
some  cases  manifested  "  a  sweet  mixture  of  love  and 
joy,  which  no  tongue  or  pen  can  describe." 

Theories  to  explain  these  strange  phenomena  were 
abundant.  But  those  who  w^ere  most  sanguine  in  their 
confident  ability  to  discover  a  solution  were  soon  forced 
to  confess  that  their  ingenuity  was  baffled.  Bodily 
imbecility,  fear,  nervous  weakness,  sympathy,  minis- 
terial oratory,  demoniac  delusions,— these  were  the 
causes  severally  or  successively  assigned,  but  subse- 
quently abandoned.  It  was  felt  that  in  the  work  there 
was,  with  all  its  peculiarities,  something  inexplicable, 
something  divine.  Its  results  were  such  as  to  com- 
mend it.  '^  It  was  a  vine  that  bore  "  figs"  rather  than 
"thorns."  A  permanent  and  salutary  change  was 
wrought  in  the  morals  of  the  community.  Infidelity, 
rampant  before,  received  a  blow  from  which  it  never 
recovered.  The  order  and  tone  of  social  life  were 
modified  for  the  better,  and  of  the  reformation  effected 
none  could  stand  in  doubt.  The  exercises  themselves 
disappeared,  and  were  at  length  almost  forgotten,  but 
the  substantial  results  of  the  revival  remained  to  attest 
its  genuineness.  No  extravagance  or  fanaticism,  as  in 
Kentucky,  kindled  its  torch  from  its  embers,  and  then 
pleaded   the   precedent  of   its    excesses  to  justify  its 

own. 

A  more  sagacious,  discriminating,  and  judicious  ob- 

VoL.  II.— 8 


86  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTLUIAXIS:.!. 

server  of  the  work  than  Dr.  Moses  lloge,  of  Yirgiuia, 
could  not  easily  have  been  named.  He  visited  the 
scenes  of  the  revival  and  acquainted  himself  with  the 
experience  of  its  subjects.  He  confessed,  indeed,  that 
"it  would  be  more  to  his  taste  could  we  get  the  world 
reformed  in  a  manner  more  conformable  to  his  ideas  of 
order  and  propi'iety;"  yet  he  pronounced  the  work 
"  very  extraordinary,"  and  freely  expressed  his  con- 
viction that  it  was  "  a  work  of  God."  He  remarked 
that  it  M^as  not  merely  the  ignorant,  the  weak,  and  the 
timid  that  were  its  subjects.  In  that  case  it  might  be 
ascribed  to  the  measures  employed  to  carry  it  on;  but 
when  men  of  information,  of  strong  nerves  and  vigor- 
ous understandings,  were  overcome, — especially  when 
Deists  of  this  descrijjtion,  who  had  fortified  themselves 
against  every  religious  impression,  from  the  writings 
of  Bolingbroke,  Hume,  Yoltaire,  and  Paine, — when  such 
men  fell.  Deists  themselves  should  be  ashamed  of  the 
solution  that  would  ascribe  this  to  the  w^ord  of  a  weak 
mortal.  No  natural  cause  with  which  he  was  acquainted 
seemed  to  him  adequate  to  so  astonishing  an  effect ; 
nor,  he  adds,  "  have  I  so  learned  the  Scriptures  as  to 
ascribe  such  a  work  as  this  to  the  finger  of  the  devil." 
In  the  intelligent  convictions  of  the  subjects  of  the 
work,  in  their  clear  and  vivid  apprehensions  of  the 
evil  of  sin  and  the  justice  of  their  condemnation,  in 
their  lamentations  over  their  hardened  hearts,  in  their 
piercing  cries  for  mercy,  and  in  their  joyful  accept- 
ance of  Christ  as  a  Saviour  able,  suitable,  and  willing 
to  save,  Dr.  Hoge  felt  satisfied  that  he  had  before  him 
the  evidences  of  the  operation  of  divine  truth  and  of 
the  Spirit  of  God.  What  he  witnessed  could  not  have 
been  affected.  "  A  Garrick  could  not  have  acted  the 
character  of  a  convinced  sinner  and  of  an  exulting 
young  convert"  as  he  saw  it  manifested  by  ignorant 
youth.     Nor  was  there  any  thing  specially  remarkable 


THE    CAROLINAS    AND    GEORGIA,    1800-1820.  87 

in  the  discourses  preached.  "  I  have  heard,"  he  says, 
"in  Virginia,  sermons  and  exhortations  more  powei'ful 
and  impressive,  as  it  aj^pears  to  me,  than  any  I  have 
heard  in  this  State."  The  sermons  were  generally 
listened  to  with  decorous  and  devout  attention,  and 
with  but  slight  disturbance;  and  at  their  close,  when 
one  and  another  conceived  it  their  duty  to  rise  and 
exhort  their  friends  and  neighbors  to  flee  from  the 
wrath  to  come,  he  could  see  no  just  reason  why  they 
should  be  altogether  prohibited.  To  him,  moreover,  it 
was  singularly  remarkable  that  the  most  inveterate 
opposers  were  sometimes  made  subjects  of  the  work, 
even  when  the  exercises  were  conducted  in  a  manner 
that  seemed  more  likely  to  strengthen  than  to  over- 
come their  prejudice.  "  Is  not  this,"  he  asked,  "  the 
doing  of  the  Lord  ?"' 

The  movement  which  had  thus  commenced  in  North 
Carolina  extended  southward,  and  several  meetings  of 
a  similar  description  to  those  held  within  the  bounds 
of  Concord  Presbytery  were  held  in  South  Carolina. 
The  first  of  which  we  have  any  account  occui-red  in 
connection  with  Fair  Forest  congregation,  under  the 
care  of  William  Williamson.*  The  church  had  long 
been  in  a  cold  and  lifeless  state.  Formalism  within 
and  profanity  without  seemed  to  threaten  the  disso- 
lution of  all  religious  society.  On  the  21st  of  March 
(1802),  "  the  first  prajdng  society"  ever  held  in  the 
congregation  met  for  social  worship.  For  two  or 
three  meetings  there  were  few  members  who  would 
venture  to  pray.  But  as  the  meetings  were  continued, 
the  attendance  increased;  a  growing  "attention  to  the 
w^ord"  appeared,  and  the  sj)irit  of  prayer  began  to 
manifest  itself.     Quite  a  number  were  awakened,  but 


1  Letter  of  Dr.  Hoge.     New  York  Miss.  Mag.,  iii.  307. 

2  New  York  Miss.  Mag.,  iii.  276. 


88  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

few,  if  any,  for  several  weeks,  gave  expression  to  hope 
in  Christ.  Fear  was  mingled  with  hope,  lest  the  signs 
of  promise  should  vanish  away  and  leave  no  fruits 
behind. 

But  on  the  last  day  of  April — the  Friday  preceding 
the  season  for  the  administration  of  the  sacrament — a 
meeting  was  appointed,  at  which  Messrs.  Joseph  Alex- 
ander, William  C.  Davis,  and  John  B.  Kennedy,  co- 
presbyters  of  William  Williamson,  were  present.  On 
Saturday,  under  a  sermon  by  Mr.  Davis,  five  persons 
were  "struck  to  the  earth  under  the  sense  of  their 
guilt  and  danger."  After  its  close,  several  others,  and 
gome  after  they  had  withdrawn  to  their  tents,  were 
similarly  affected.  From  this  time  the  power  of  the 
work  continued  steadily  to  increase  till  Monday  noon, 
when  it  was  estimated  that  as  many  as  forty  or  fifty 
had  fallen.  The  fruits  of  the  work  continued  to  mani- 
fest themselves  even  after  the  public  means  to  promote 
it  had  ceased. 

No  undue  attempt  was  made  by  the  speakers  to  work 
upon  the  passions  of  the  audience.  No  scenes  of  con- 
fusion were  to  be  witnessed.  Decorum  and  good  order 
were  observed;  and  in  the  cases  of  those  who  were 
affected,  there  was  seen  little  that  could  be  noted  as 
weak  or  imprudent.  Not  an  irrational  or  unscriptural 
expression  was  to  be  heard.  Yet  the  distress  of  the 
convicted  was  "  awful,"  and  the  joys  of  those  who  had 
found  relief  were  not  wild  or  extravagant,  but  often 
ecstatic.  Every  one  present  felt  that  it  was  a  mighty 
display  of  the  power  and  grace  of  God.  Among  the 
subjects  of  the  work  who  were  peculiarly  affected  were 
quite  a  number  of  young  men  who  seemed  least  likely 
to  be  brought  under  its  power. 

Another  "  general  meeting"  was  held  within  the 
bounds  of  Broadaway  congregation  (Pendleton  District), 
under  the  charge  of  James  Gilliland,  on  the  25th  of 


THE    CAROLINAS    AND    GEORGIA,    1800-1S20.  89 

July.  On  this  occasion,  Methodist  and  Baptist  as  well 
as  Presbyterian  ministers  were  present,  and  the  assem- 
bled multitude  was  estimated  as  high  as  five  thousand. 
Some  came  from  a  distance  of  from  twenty  to  forty 
miles.  Here  the  features  of  the  former  meeting  were 
reproduced.  Persons  of  all  ages,  from  ten  to  seventy 
years  of  age,  Avere  stricken  down.  Some  recovered  in 
twc,  and  some  not  for  thirty,  hours.  Those  wdio  fell 
w^ere  as  likely  to  be  affected  while  passing  through  the 
encampment,  or  after  having  withdrawn  to  their  tents, 
as  during  the  sermons.  Those  were  exercised  "  with 
the  greater  apparent  severity"  who  had  led  the  most 
immoral  lives;  while  persons  whose  conduct  had  been 
upright  and  moral,  though  deeply  impressed,  rarely 
lost  the  control  of  their  speech  or  limbs,  and  sooner 
recovered  serenity  of  mind.^ 

The  subsequent  history  of  the  Southern  churches 
affords  no  parallel  for  the  revival  of  1802.  It  stands 
alone  with  its  marked  and  peculiar  features.  Its  in- 
fluence Avas  powerful  and  extended,  and  its  results  were 
such  as  to  justify  the  hopes  it  excited.  The  entire  com- 
munity felt  its  influence.  Each  meeting  was  a  radiating 
point  for  a  region  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  miles  in 
diameter.  In  many  distinct  congregations  where  none 
3f  the  meetings  were  held,  the  cause  of  piety  received 
I  new  impulse;  and  those  who  had  visited  them  bore 
back  to  their  own  neighborhoods  a  revived  zeal  in  the 
3ause  of  religion.  Nor  was  this  all.  The  moral  tone 
and  religious  life  of  the  community  were  invigorated. 
Social  and  civil  welfare  were  promoted.  The  churches 
were  greatly  strengthened,  and  the  prevalent  vice  and 
infidelity  received  a  check  that  was  permanently  felt. 
Continuing  as  it  did  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  for 
several  years, — indeed,  scarcelj'"  ceasing  before  the  ex- 

1  New  York  Miss.  Mag.,  iii.  312 

8* 


90  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

citing  influences  and  commotions  of  tlie  last  war  with 
England  began  to  operate, — the  revival  wrought  a  power- 
ful change  in  the  tone  of  religious  sentiment  through- 
out the  State.  Many  young  men,  numbered  among  its 
subjects,  were  led  to  consider  their  duty  to  preach  the 
gospel,  and  eventually  entered  upon  the  work  of  the 
ministry.  Peacock  and  Mclntyre,  who  had  reached 
mature  years,  left  their  occupations,  prepared  them- 
selves for  the  pulpit,  and  became  eminently  useful. 

The  growth  of  the  Church  during  this  period  was 
largely  due  to  the  results  of  the  revival.  But  for  these, 
the  destitution,  which  was  great,  would  have  been  far 
gi-eater.  For  the  entire  period,  from  fifty  to  sixty  of 
the  congregations  were  vacant  and  unable  to  sustain 
pastors.  The  field  occupied  by  the  Synod  was  so  far 
of  a  missionary  character  that  Dr.  Hall  finally  urged 
the  surrender  of  all  outside  its  bounds  to  the  care  of 
the  Assembly,  that  the  Synod  might  concentrate  all  its 
energies  within  its  own  limits. 

The  cause  of  learning  found  in  the  Carolinas  no  moK*' 
efficient  friends  than  the  pastors  of  the  Presbyterian 
churches.  A  large  number  of  these,  for  longer  or 
shorter  periods,  were  actively'  engaged  in  the  work  of 
instruction.  The  University  of  North  Carolina,^  esta- 
blished in  1789,  had,  as  successive  Principals,  Eev.  David 
Kerr  and  Drs.  Chapman  and  Caldwell,  and  among  its 
instructors  Kollock,  Mitchell,  and  others  who  per- 
formed   service   in   the    cause  of   the   Church.*     The 

1  For  a  sketch  of  the  history  of  the  University  of  North  Carolina, 
see  Am.  Quar.  Reg.,  Nov.  1842. 

2  Davidson  College  was  founded  by  the  Presbyteries  of  Concord 
and  Morgantown  in  North  Carolina,  and  Bethel  in  South  Carolina. 
It  was  located  in  the  upper  part  of  Mecklenburg  county,  N.C.,  and 
within  the  bounds  of  Concord  Presbytery.  Before  1837,  subscrip- 
tions and  donations  amounting  to  nearly  forty  thousand  dollars  had 
been  secured.     It  was  proposed  to  connect  manual  labor  with  the 


THE    CAROLINAS    AND    GEORGIA,    1800-1820.  91 

names  of  Brown  and  Waddel,  Turner,  McPheeters,  and 
McWhirr,  not  to  mention  others  who  united  pastoral 
duty  with  devotion  to  the  cause  of  classical  and  liberal 
education,  are  worthy  of  special  honor;  and  when  the 
College  of  South  Carolina  was  rescued  mainly  by  Pres- 
byterian influence  from  the  blighting  effects  of  infidel 
control,  the  cause  of  sound  learning  as  well  as  of  piety 
was  a  debtor  to  those  by  whom  it  was  exerted. 

In  1785,  three  colleges  were  constituted  by  the  Legis- 
lature of  South  Carolina  on  the  same  day,  and  by  a 
single  charter  common  to  them  all.  One  was  located 
at  Charleston,  another  at  Winnsborough,  and  another 
at  Cambridge  in  the  northwestern  part  of  the  State. 

In  1791,  a  new  charter  was  granted  for  the  College 
of  Charleston.  The  original  endowment  of  the  college 
by  the  Legislature  consisted  of  eight  and  seven-eighths 
acres  of  land  in  Charleston,  and  was  comprised  between 
Boundary,  Philip,  Corning,  and  George  Streets.  The 
college  square  was  one-fourth  of  the  tract.  Legacies 
and  donations  to  the  amount  of  several  thousand 
pounds  were  made  to  the  institution, — some  as  early 
as  1772  and  1776  "  to  the  college  to  be  established  in 
Charleston."! 

In  1789,  Eobert  Smith,  afterward  Bishop  of  South 
Carolina,  was  elected  Principal,  and  transferred  his 
school  of  sixty  pupils  to  the  buildings  that  had  been 
used  as  soldiers'  bai'racks  in  the  War  of  the  Eevolution. 
The  institution,  however,  was  little  more  than  a  gram- 
institution,  and  a  valuable  farm  was  procured.  The  Rev.  R.  H. 
Morrison,  of  Mecklenburg,  was  elected  President  and  Professor  of 
Mental  and  Moral  Philosophy  and  the  Evidences  of  Christianity 
Rev.  R.  J.  Sparrow,  of  Salisbury,  was  chosen  Professor  of  Lan- 
guages, and  Mortimer  Johnson,  Tutor.  The  original  plan  was  to 
have  three  departments, — a  normal  school  for  teachers,  a  preparatory 
department,  and  the  college  proper. — Am.  Quar.  Reg.,  May,  1837. 

«  Am.  Quar.  Reg.,  Nov.  1839. 


92  ■   HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

mur-school  during  his  administration.  He  sent  his  two 
sons  to  the  North  to  be  educated.  The  institution  was 
running  more  and  more  deeply  into  debt,  until  all  the 
land,  except  College  Square,  was  sold  (1806)  to  meet 
the  liabilities.  Thomas  Bee  (1797)  and  Eev.  Dr.  George 
Buist  (1805)  were  Bishop  Smith's  successors.  Under 
Dr.  Buist  there  were  no  graduates.  From  1807  to  1811 
"  the  w^hole  college  was  a  dreadful  nuisance  to  the 
neighborhood.  It  was  a  cage  of  every  unclean  bird.  .  .  . 
The  teachers  paid  no  regard  whatever  to  the  morals  of 
the  boys." 

In  1823,  an  attempt  was  made  to  revive  the  insti- 
tution. Under  Jasper  Adams,  previously  of  Brown 
University,  it  promised  to  be  successful.  But  the  State 
institution  at  Columbia  proved  a  formidable  rival;  and 
from  1835,  Charleston  College  began  rapidly  to  decline. 

The  feebleness  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the 
Carolinas  and  Georgia  prevented  their  undertaking 
those  enterprises  in  behalf  of  ministerial  education 
which  attained  a  more  rapid  success  in  the  Northern 
States.  North  Carolina  extended  her  patronage  to  the 
Union  Theological  Seminary  in  Virginia,  while  South 
Carolina  and  Georgia  combined  their  efforts  at  a  subse- 
quent period  to  establish  an  institution  of  their  own.* 

1  In  1827,  the  General  Assembly  was  requested  to  denominate  the 
seminary  in  Virginia  the  "Union  Seminary  of  the  General  As- 
sembly, under  the  care  of  the  Synods  of  Virginia  and  North  Caro- 
lina." In  the  previous  year  the  Synod  of  North  Carolina  had  been 
induced  by  the  influence  of  Dr.  John  H.  Rice  to  unite  with  that  of 
Virginia  in  support  of  the  institution. 

From  this  time  the  Synod  of  South  Carolina  and  Georgia  cherished 
the  purpose  of  establishing  a  seminary  within  their  own  bounds. 
As  early,  at  least,  as  1824,  there  had  been  a  design  to  establish  a 
literary  as  well  as  theological  seminary, — the  Siite  institution  at 
Columbia  being  under  infidel  auspices;  but  the  former  part  of  the 
design  was  soon  abandoned,  and,  within  a  few  months  after  the 
North  Carolina  churches  had  decided  to  extend  their  patronage  to 


TH£    CARJLINAS    AND    GEOKUIA,    ISOO- 1820.  93 

During  the  most  of  tliis  period  the  oj'.^jortunities 
for  a  good  common  education  in  North  Carolina  came 
far  short  of  those  which  were  enjoyed  in  some  of  the 
oth^r  States.  The  school-accommodations  consisted 
of  a  rude  structure  of  logs,  without  windows  save  the 
spacious  openings  between  the  logs,  with  the  earth  for 
a  floor,  rude  pine  benches  for  seats,  and  a  stick  chimney. 
Yet  occasionally  in  such  scenes  as  these  the  higher 
branches  of  an  English  education,  mathematics,  and 
the  Latin  and  Greek  languages,  were  taught ;  and 
sometimes  to  these  advantages  the  future  eminence  of 
distinguished  men  was  largely  due.  The  name  of  Angus 
Curric  McNeill  is  one  well  known  in  certain  parts  of 
North  Carolina  and  Alabama  as  that  of  a  man  who 
deserves  well  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  to  the  in- 
terests of  which  his  life,  as  teacher  and  pastor,  was 
devoted.  In  his  early  years  he  manifested  a  strong 
love  for  learning.  Left  by  his  father's  death  in  humble 
circumstances,  he  was  carefully  trained  by  his  pious 

the  Union  Seminary  in  Virginia,  the  Synod  of  South  Carolina  and 
Georgia  took  active  measures  to  found  the  Southern  Theological 
Seminary.  In  1833  they  applied  for  active  aid  in  New  England, 
and  in  1836  the  institution  numbered  sixteen  students.  From  the 
bounds  of  the  Synod,  there  were  only  six  students  in  other  seminaries. 

The  professors  in  Columbia  Theological  Seminary  have  been  Drs. 
T.  Goulding  (1828),  G.  Howe  (1831),  A.  W.  Leland  (1833),  C.  C. 
Jones  (1836),  A.  T.  McGill  (1852),  B.  M.  Palmer  (1854),  J.  H. 
Thornwell  (1856),  J.  B.  Adger  (1857),  A.  W.  Leland,  re-elected 
(1856),  and  B.  £.  Lanneau  and  James  Cohen  successively  teachers 
of  Hebrew. 

To  aid  in  securing  an  endowment  tor  the  Southern  Theological 
Seminary,  application  was  made  by  the  agent  of  the  Synod  to  the 
General  Association  of  Massachusetts;  in  response  to  which  the 
churches  were  recommended  "to  render  such  pecuniary  assistance 
as  they  may  feel  able  to  do  in  the  establishment  of  a  Professorship 
of  Christian  Theology  in  that  seminary." — Am.  Quar.  Reg.,  Nov. 
1838. 


94  HISTORY    OF    niESBYTERIANISM 

mother.  When  too  j'oung  to  attend  school,  he  stealthily 
left  honie  and  in  his  morning  slip  wended  his  way  to 
the  school-house.  "  Whose  wee  bit  of  a  bairn  is  that?" 
demanded  the  good  old  Gaelic  teacher.  "  I  am  called 
Angus  Mc]S"eill,"  was  the  reply;  "I  ran  away  from 
mamma,  and  come  here  to  learn  books  like  the  other 
boys.  Will  you  learn  me  books?"  was  the  prompt  ques- 
tion of  the  little  truant.  "  I  cfertainly  will,"  said  the 
teacher,  taking  him  in  his  arms,  pi-essing  him  fondly  to 
his  bosom,  and  shedding  tears  of  delight  over  the  noble 
Scotch-Irish  boy,  whom  for  a  time  he  carried  to  and 
from  school  each  day  on  his  back.  Here  McNeill 
learned  to  read  and  spell,  memorized  the  Catechism, 
and  became  fond  of  his  Bible.  We  are  not  surprised 
that  he  subsequently  won  the  first  honor  in  the  uni- 
versity of  his  native  State. 

During  the  period  under  review  (1800-1820),  the 
population  of  North  Carolina  had  increased  from  four 
hundi'ed  and  seventy-eight  thousand  one  hundred  and 
three  to  six  hundred  and  thirty-eight  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  twenty -nine,  or  at  the  rate  of  about  thirty- 
three  per  cent.  The  Presbyterian  ministers  of  the 
State  at  the  same  time  had  increased  from  twenty-nine 
in  1800  to  thirty-eight  in  1819,  or  at  the  rate  of  about 
twenty-five  per  cent.  The  churches  had  advanced  from 
seventy-three,  of  which  thirty-on"e  were  vacant,  to  one 
hundred  and  twelve,  of  which  about  forty  were  vacant; 
thus  indicating  that,  while  there  had  been  a  compara- 
tive falling  off  in  the  ministry,  the  increase  in  the  con- 
gregations had  kept  pace  with  the  growth  of  the  State.^ 

1  In  the  "  Christian  Herald"  for  1818,  p.  614,  it  is  stated  that  the 
population  of  Georgia  and  North  and  South  Carolina  amounted  to 
Dne  million  two  hundred  and  twenty-three  thousand  and  forty-eight, 
among  whom  were  only  one  hundred  and  ten  competent  ministers, 
thus  leaving  nine-tenths  of  the  people  destitute  of  proper  religious 
instruction.     A  respectable  native  citizen  of  South  Carolina  stated 


NEW    YORK,    1800-1815.  95 

During  the  same  period,  the  population  of  South 
Carolina  had  advanced  from  three  hundred  and  forty- 
five  thousand  five  hundred  and  ninety-one  in  1800  to 
five  hundred  and  two  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
forty-one  in  1820,  or  at  the  rate  of  about  forty-five  per 
cent.  Meanwhile  the  Presbyterian  ministers  of  the 
State  had  increased  from  eighteen  to  thirty-four,  and 
the  congregations  from  about  fifty,  of  which  just  one- 
half  were  vacant,  to  nearly  sixty,  of  which  little  more 
than  one-fourth  were  vacant. 

In  Georgia  the  population  had  increased  at  the  rate 
of  over  one  hundred  per  cent.,  from  one  hundred  and 
sixty-two  thousand  one  hundred  and  one  in  1800,  to 
three  hundred  and  fort}^  thousand  nine  hundred  and 
seventy-eight  in  1820.  But,  from  the  lack  of  full  re- 
ports, we  are  unable  to  determine  the  proportionate 
advance  of  the  Church  in  the  same  period, — although  it 
must  have  kept  pace,  at  least,  with  that  of  the  popula- 
tion of  the  State. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

NEW    YORK,    1800-1815. 


In  1800,  the  Presbytery  of  Long  Island — the  name  of 
which  had  been  changed  in  1790  from  that  of  Suffolk — 
consisted  of  fifteen  ministers,  twelve  of  them  with,  and 
three  wimout,  charges.  Benjamin  Goldsmith  was  at 
Aquabogue  and  Mattituck  (1764-1810),  where  he  was 

that  in  an  ancient  district  of  that  State,  embracing  nine  hundred 
square  miles  contiguous  to  the  sea-coast,  there  was  but  one  place 
of  worship,  and  that  not  used,  and  not  one  Christian  church  or  min- 
ister of  any  denomination. 


96  IIIoTORY    OF    I'RESUyTKRIANISM. 

succeeded  in  1811  by  Benjamin  Bailey  (Nov.  6,  1811- 
May  18, 1816)  and  Nathaniel  Eeeve  (1817-23).'  William 
Scbenk  was  at  Huntington  (1793-1817),  where  he  was 
succeeded  by  Samuel  Eobertson  (1816-23)  and  Nehe- 
miah  Brown  (1824-32).*  George  Faitoute  was  at  Ja- 
maica (1789-1815),  where  he  was  succeeded  by  Henry 
R.  Weed  (1816-22).'  Nathan  Woodhull  was  at  Newtown 
(1789-1810),  where  he  was  succeeded  by  William  Board- 
man  (1811-18)  and  John  Goldsmith.  Zachariah  Green 
was  at  Brookhaven  (Setauket),  where  his  ministry  ex- 
tended from  1797  down  to  a  recent  period.  Aaron 
Woolworth  was  at  Bridgehampton  (1787-1821),  where 
he  was  succeeded  by  Amzi  Francis  (1823-45).  Luthei 
Gleson  was  at  Smithtown  and  Islip  (1797-1807),  where 
he  was  succeeded  by  Bradford  Marcy  (1811-15),  Henry 
Fuller  (1816-21),  Eichard  F.  Nicoll  (1823-27),  Ithamar 
Pillsbury  (1827  to  1833),  and  James  C.  Edwards  at 
Smithtown.  Joseph  Hazard  was  at  Southold  (1797- 
1806),  where  he  was  succeeded  by  Jonathan  Hunting* 
(1807-28).  Daniel  Hall  was  at  Sag  Harbor  (1797-1806), 
where  he  was  succeeded — after  an  interval,  during 
which  the  church  was  supplied  by  N.  S.  Prime,  Stephen 
Porter,  and  a  Mr.  Gaylord — by  John  D.  Gardner  (1812- 
32).  David  S.  Bogart  was  at  Southampton  (1798-1806 
and  1807-13),  where  he  was  succeeded  by  John  M. 
Babbit  (1817-21).*     Lyman  Beecher  was  at  Easthamp- 

1  The  successors  of  Mr.  Reeve  were  Jonathan  Hunting,  a  Mr. 
Gilbert,  and  Abraham  Luce.  The  two  congregations  were  known 
as  Union  Parish. 

2  His  successors  were  S.  F.  Halliday  (1833-36)  and  James 
McDougal. 

«  His  successors  were  S.  P.  Funck  (1823-25),  Elias  W.  Crane 
(1826-40),  J.  M.  McDonald,  and  Peter  D.  Oakey. 

*  His  successors  were,  Ralpli  Smitli  (1836-38),  George  F.  Wiswell 
(1845-50),  and  Epher  Whitaker  (1851—). 

His  successors  were,  Peter  B.  Shaw  (1821-29),  Daniel  Beers  (1830- 
35),  ,ind  Hugh  N.  Wilson. 


NEW   YORK,    1800- 1S15.  97 

ton  (1799-1810),  where  he  was  succeeded  by  Ebenezer 
Phillips  (1811-30).'  Southhaven  (or  Fireplace),  vacant 
in  1800,  had  subsequently  as  pastors  Herman  Daggett 
(1801-07),  Ezra  King,  and  Abijah  Tomlinson.  Hemp- 
stead, vacant  till  1805,  had  William  P.  Kuypers  (1805 
to  1811),  Samuel  Eobertson  (1812-17),  and  Charles 
Webster  (1818-37).^  Middletown  (Middle  Island)  was 
vacant  till  united  with  Southhaven  under  Ezra  King 
(1814-39).  Shelter  Island,— Whitefield's ''Patmos,"— 
where  William  Adams — here  in  1764 — continued  for 
more  than  thirty  years  as  stated  supply,  was  in  charge 
of  Daniel  Hall  from  1806  to  1812,  and  was  subsequently 
supplied  by  Ezra  Youngs,  Jonathan  Hunting,  Daniel 
M.  Lord,  and  others.  Brookfield,  for  some  time  after 
1807,  was  under  the  care  of  Jonathan  Robinson.  Fresh 
Pond,  previously  vacant,  was  united  with  Sraithtown, 
under  the  pastoral  care  of  Henry  Fuller,  in  1816. 

The  first  twenty  years  of  this  century  added  but 
little  to  the  numbers  or  strength  of  Long  Island 
Presbytery.  In  1825, — including  the  churches  of  New- 
town, Hempstead,  and  Jamaica,  whose  relations  had 
been  transferred  to  the  Presbytery  of  New  York,  the 
First  Church  of  Brookljai,  organized  in  the  same  con- 
nection, and  the  church  of  Huntington,  transferred  to 
the  care  of  the  Second  New  York  Presbytery, — all  the 
Presbyterian  churches  on  the  island  amounted  to  but 
twenty,  with  nineteen  ministers  residing  within  their 
bounds,  of  whom  two  were  without  charge.  The  in- 
crease, therefore,  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  had  been 
only  about  thirty  per  cent. 

The  patriarch  among  the  pastors  of  the  island  was 
for  many  years  Zachariah  Green,  of  Setauket.  He  was 
born  at  Stafford,  Conn.,  in  1760.     In  the  Revolutionary 

1  His  successors  were  Joseph  B.  Condit  (1830-35)  and  Samuel  R. 
Ely,  stated  supply. 

*  His  succes.sors  were  Sylvester  Woodbridge  and  N.  C.  Locke. 
Vol.  II.— 0 


98  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

War  he  joined  the  arm}',  and  was  present  on  Dor. 
Chester  Heights  when  the  British  Umded  at  Throgg's 
ISTeck.  He  was  also  engaged  at  the  battle  of  White 
Plains,  and  at  the  battle  of  Whitemarsh,  Pa.,  he  was 
wounded  by  a  ball  in  the  shoulder.  On  his  recovery 
he  entered  Dartmouth  College  (1782).  His  health  failed, 
and  he  did  not  remain  to  graduate.  His  theological 
course  was  completed  under  Dr.  Jacob  Green,  of  Hano- 
ver, N.J.,  and  in  1785  he  was  licensed  by  the  Morris 
County  Associated  Presbytery,  and  by  them,  in  1787, 
ordained  pastor  of  the  church  of  Cutchogue.  Ten 
years  later  he  was  settled  at  Setauket,  where  he  re- 
mained for  fifty-one  years.*  His  death  occurred  June 
20,  1858,  in  his  ninety -ninth  year 

In  New  York  City  several  new  churches  were  founded 
during  this  period.  In  1808,  Duane  Street  (first  known 
as  Cedar  Street)  Church  was  organized,  and  John  B. 
Eomeyn  (1808-25),  of  Albany,  was  installed  (JSTovember 
9)  as  pastor.  In  1809,  the  Canal  Street  Church  was  or- 
ganized; and  in  the  following  year  John  McNeice  (1810- 
15)  was  called  to  the  pastorate  of  this,  which,  from  its 
membership,  was  commonly  called  the  "  Irish  Presby- 
terian Church."  In  1811,  the  Laight  Street  Church 
was  organized,  and  Matthew  La  Eue  Perrine  was  in- 
stalled pastor.  In  the  same  year,  Elizabeth  Street 
Church,  upon  its  reorganization,  was  received  by  the 
Presbytery,  although  it  had  but  a  brief  existence.  No 
further  eflPorts  for  church-extension  were  made  for 
several  years,  until  Elihu  W.  Baldwin,  in  1816,  laid  the 
foundations  of  the  "  Seventh  Presbyterian  Church." 

Along  the  line  of  the  Hudson  the  older  churches  had 

1  I  met  him  about  the  year  1854,  and  in  conversation  -with  him 
found  him  in  full  possession  of  his  faculties,  and  delighting  to  re- 
peat the  reminiscences  of  earlier  days.  He  spoke  of  the  founding 
of  Rutgers  College  as  due  to  a  suggestion  made  by  himself  to  Colo- 
nel Rutgers. 


NEW    YCUK,    1800-1815.  99 

been  sti*engthened,  and  several  new  churches  had  been 
organized.  Andrew  King  (till  1815),  the  father  of  the 
Presbytery  of  Hudson,  was  still  settled  at  Wallkill. 
Goshen  had  Isaac  Lewis  for  its  pastor  from  1806  to 
1811 ;  and  in  1813,  Ezra  Fisk  began  there  his  ministry 
of  twenty  years.  Daniel  Crane  had  for  some  time  been 
settled  at  Fishkill.  John  Johnston  had  commenced  in 
1807,  at  Newburgh,  his  pastorate  wdiich  was  to  extend 
to  nearly  half  a  century.  Ebenezer  Grant  was  settled 
at  Bedford,  and  John  Ely  at  Salem.  At  Catskill,  Avhere 
the  congregation  was  yet  feeble  and  worshipped  in  the 
court-house,  David  Porter  had  commenced  his  labors 
in  1803,  on  his  removal  from  Spencertown,  and  in  part 
through  his  efforts  a  church  had  been  organized  at 
Cairo,  which  was  supplied  for  some  years  by  Herman 
Daggett.  John  Chester,  soon  to  be  removed  to  Albany, 
had  succeeded  Eeuben  Sears  at  Hudson  (1810),  where 
a  church  had  been  gathered  about  the  year  1790.  Jonas 
Coe,  pastor  for  eleven  years  (1793-1804)  of  Troy  and 
Lansingburg,  continued  in  charge  of  the  former  till 
1822 ;  while  at  Lansingburg,  thenceforth  united  with 
"VYaterford,  he  was  succeeded  by  Samuel  Blatchford 
(1804-28).  The  Presbytery  of  Columbia  had  been 
erected,  by  a  division  of  the  Presbytery  of  Albany,  in 
1802,  and,  besides  Coe,  Blatchford,  and  Chester,  had 
upon  its  list  of  members  R.  H.  Chapman  at  Cambridge 
(1801-12),  F.  Halsey  at  Plattsburg,  and  S.  Tomb  at 
Salem.  Its  congregations  numbered  fifteen,  of  which 
several  were  unable  singly  to  support  a  pastor.  The 
Presbytery  of  Albany  had  the  same  number  of  churches 
under  its  care,  nearly  half  of  which  were  vacant.  In 
1813,  the  Second  Church  of  Albany  was  formed,  and 
soon  after  Dr.  William  Neill  was  settled  as  its  pastor. 
Several  other  churches  were  organized  within  the 
bounds  of  the  Presbytery  at  about  the  same  period, 
and  in  1820  the  Sj-nod  of  Alban}'  numbered  eight  Pres- 


100  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

byteries.  The  original  Presbytery  of  Albany  was  suc- 
cessively divided ;  and  in  1802  the  Presbyteries  of 
Oneida  and  Columbia  were  formed,  in  1814  that  of 
Champlain,  in  1818  those  of  St.  Lawrence  and  Otsego, 
and  in  1820  that  of  Troy.  Meanwhile,  with  the  Synod 
of  Albany,  as  most  accessible,  the  Presbyterian  churches 
of  New  England  (Londonderry  Presbytery)  became 
connected. 

In  1809,  the  Presbytery  of  Londonderry,  afterward 
subdivided  to  form  the  Presbj^tery  of  Newburyport, 
came  under  the  care  of  the  General  Assembly.  Here 
in  New  Hampshire,  as  in  South  Carolina,  the  Presby- 
terian Church  had  taken  root  independent  of  any  con- 
nection Avith  the  Synod  or  Assembly.  At  the  period 
of  the  large  Irish  immigration  to  this  country  in  1719, 
quite  a  number  of  Presbyterians  directed  their  course 
to  New  England.  They  Avere  to  be  found  in  Maine, 
Massachusetts,  and  Ncav  Hampshire,  as  Avell  as  in  New 
York,  New  Jersey,  and  Pennsylvania. 

The  early  churches  of  New  England  were  largely 
leavened  Avith  Presbyterian  tendencies.  The  church 
at  Leyden  declared  that  their  form  of  order  was  iden- 
tical Avith  that  of  the  French  Presbyterian  churches, 
except  that  the  latter  chose  their  ruling  elders  for  a 
limited  period  instead  of  for  life.  Lej^den  furnished 
Plymouth  its  model,  and  the  constitution  of  the  latter 
was  copied  by  others.*  In  the  Eastern  colonies,  hoAv- 
ever,  the  State  had  usurped  the  place  of  Presbyteries 
and  Synods  in  the  supervision  of  the  Avelfare  and  purity 
of  the  churches.^  The  theory  of  the  New  England 
settlers  conceded  this  ecclesiastical  care  to  the  magis- 

J  Moi-ton's  New  England  Memorial,  Appendix;  and  Life  of  Brad- 
ford. 

2  No  town  could  be  incorporated  until  a  church  was  gathered,  a 
house  of  worship  built,  a  minister  settled  who  had  been  approved 
by  the  General  Court,  and  provision  made  for  his  support.  F 


NKW    YORK.    1800-1815.  101 

trate,  and  the  result  was  that  Synods  were  rarely  held, 
although  strenuous  efforts  were  made  to  revive  them 
after  they  had  fallen  into  disuse,  and  to  secure  their 
regular  observance,  until  the  king,  at  the  instigation  of 
New  England  Episcopalians,  exj^ressly  forbade  their 
convocation  without  his  consent. 

But  just  before  this  took  place,  the  Irish  immigration 
had  commenced.  The  Presbyterians  were  heartily  re- 
ceived. Cotton  Mather  wrote  to  Principal  Stirling,  of 
Glasgow,  expressing  the  hope  that,  "  as  great  numbers 
are  like  to  come  to  us  from  the  North  of  Ireland,  the 
bond  between  the  churches  of  Scotland  and  New  Eng- 
land will  every  day  grow  stronger  and  stronger."  This 
was  in  1713.  Five  years  later,  he  says,  "  We  are  com- 
forted with  great  numbers  of  the  oppressed  brethren 
coming  from  the  North  of  Ireland.  The  glorious 
providence  of  God,  in  the  removal  of  so  many  of  a 
desirable  character  from  the  North  of  Ireland,  hath 
doubtless  very  great  intentions  in  it." 

A  church  of  Presbyterians  was  established  at  Lon- 
donderry, under  James  McGregor.'  A  company  with 
Edward  Fitzgerald  at  their  head  located  at  Worcester. 
Robert  Abercrombie,  with  a  number  of  families,  settled 
at  Pelham.  Others  located  at  Casco  Bay,  Macosquin, 
and  other  places.  AVith  comparatively  little  increase 
or  change,  the  churches  thus  early  founded,  with  the 
few  others  soon  connected  with  them,  continued 
through  the  century.  Dependent  often  upon  Congrega- 
tional pastors,  isolated  from  the  great  body  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  and  feeble  in  themselves,  it  would 
not  have  been  strange  if  they  had  been  absorbed  in 
other  bodies.  But  for  the  most  part,  except  in  Maine, 
the}"  maintained  their  position  and  their  distinctive 
character  until  in  1809  they  united  with  the  Sj^nod  of 

'  See  History  of  Lojidonderry. 
9* 


102  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

Albany  and   came  into   connection  with    the   General 
Assembly. 

Thc}^  had  indeed,  at  an  earlier  period,  attempted  to 
occupy  an  independent  position  and  maintain  a  rank 
co-ordinate  with  that  of  the  old  Synod.  But  the  times 
were  unpropitious,  and  the  attempt  proved  vain.  It 
was  at  the  most  critical  moment — at  the  opening  of 
the  Eevolutionary  War,  May  31, 1775,  shortly  after  the 
battle  of  Lexington — that  the  churches  and  ministers 
were  so  divided  into  the  three  Presbyteries  of  London- 
derry, Salem,  and  Palmer  as  to  constitute  a  Synod.' 

1  Tbe  following  statement,  from  Dr.  Dana,  is  given  in  Dr.  Hill's 
History  : — 

The  First  Presbytery  in  New  England  was  constituted  in  London- 
derry, N.H.,  April  16,  1745,  and  consisted  of  Messrs.  Moorhead, 
of  Boston,  McGregor,  of  Londonderry,  and  Abercrombie,  of  Pel- 
ham,  with  the  elders  of  their  churches.  Three  years  after,  the 
church  of  Newburyport  (Jonathan  Parsons,  pastor)  came  under  its 
care.  In  1770,  it  had  grown  so  as  to  embrace  twelve  ministers  and 
as  many  congregations.  The  Synod  (1775)  consisted  of  three  Pres- 
byteries,— Salem,  which,  with  the  churches  of  Newburyport,  Bos- 
ton, Salem,  Seabrook,  (N.H.),  Bristol  (Me.),  and  several  vacancies, 
had  as  ministers  Parsons,  Whitaker  (Salem),  Paloy,  and  McLean. 
Londonderry  had  McGregor,  Mitchell,  of  Pembroke,  Williams,  of 
Windham,  Strickland,  of  Oakham  ;  while  Peterborough  and  other 
vacancies  were  under  its  care.  Palmer  had  Hueston,  of  Bedford, 
Baldwin,  of  Kingston,  and  Messrs.  Hutchinson,  Merritt,  Gilmore, 
and  Patrick,  with  the  vacancies  of  Blandford,  Pelham,  and  Cole- 
raine.  These,  constituting  the  Synod  of  New  England,  met  Sept. 
4,  1775.  See  Webster,  666;  also  Dr.  Dana,  as  quoted  by  Dr.  Hill, 
pp.  56,  57. 

But  before  this  a  Presbytery  had  been  formed  in  Maine.  Mr. 
Murray,  previously  of  Philadelphia,  but  then  of  Boothbay,  was  the 
leading  minister.  This  body  was  styled  the  Presbytery  of  the 
Eastward,  and  never  connected  itself  with  the  Synod  of  New  Eng- 
land.—  Dr.  Ilill.  For  other  facts  concerning  the  earliest  Presbytery, 
seeA\ebster,  110.  I  suspect  there  were  two  Presbyteries  before 
that  of  Londonderry,  one  in  Maine,  the  other  "  Boston".  Presby- 
tei'y.     See  al-o  Greenleaf's  "Churches  of  Maine." 


NEW    YORK,    1800-1S15.  103 

At  the  best,  each  Presbyter}'  had  little  more  than  a 
quorum,  and  the  disastrous  influence  of  the  war 
materially  weakened  what  was  weak  before.  In  1782, 
the  Synod  was  dissolved,  and  the  ministers  and  churches 
were  united  in  the  Presbytery  of  Salem.  Yet  even 
this  could  boast  barely  of  a  quorum. 

In  1789,  negotiations  were  commenced  with  a  view 
to  the  union  of  New  England  Presbyterians  with  the 
Associate  Presbyter}^  of  New  York.  The  object  Avas 
accomplished  in  1793,  and  the  new  body  took  the  name 
of  the  Presbytery  of  Londonderry.  With  the  begin- 
ning of  the  present  centurj^  it  grew  more  rapidly,  and 
in  1809,  having  withdrawn  from  the  Associate  Church, 
it  became  connected  with  the  Synod  of  Albanj-.  In 
1821,  this  Presbytery  of  Londonderry,  afterward  (1826) 
divided  to  form  that  of  Newburyport,  reported  twenty- 
seven  ministers  and  thirteen  churches,  with  a  member- 
ship of  eleven  hundred  and  eighty-five.  Thus,  in  the 
first  twenty  years  of  the  present  century,  the  Presby- 
tery of  Albany  had  grown  to  a  Synod,  embracing, 
apart  from  Central  and  Western  New  York,  eight  Pres- 
byteries, with  moi'e  than  one  hundred  ministers,  a  still 
larger  number  of  churches,  and  a  membership  of  not 
far  from  ten  thousand. 

In  the  central  and  western  portions  of  the  State  the 
progress  of  the  Church  during  the  early  years  of  the 
present  century  was  much  more  rapid  than  at  the  east. 
From  1800  to  1810,  nearly  fifty  churches  were  organized 
in  this  region,  most  of  them  destined  to  permanence. 
In  1801,  the  churches  of  Homer  and  Skaneateles  were 
gathered  J  in  1803,  those  of  Pompey,  Otisco,  Hope- 
well, Trumansburg,  and  Newark.  Before  1806,  those 
of  Ithaca,  Romulus,  Lansing,  and  Penfield  had  been 
added  to  the  list.  Before  1810,  there  had  been  formed 
within  the  bounds  of  each  of  the  Presbyteries  of  Onon- 
daga, Cayuga,  Geneva,  Cortland,  Bath,  and  Ontario,  as 


104;  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

now  constituted,  from  four  to  ten  churches.  This  ratio 
of  progress  eontiiuied  through  the  ten  following  years. 
From  1810  to  1815,  more  than  twenty  churches  were 
organized  in  this  region,  including  Manlius,  Auhurn 
Second,  Clyde,  Mount  Morris,  Angelica,  Buffalo  First, 
Corning,  and  Eochester  First. 

In  1800,  Rev.  Jedediah  Chapman,  a  member  of  the 
Presbj-tery  of  JSTew  York,  was  stationed  at  Geneva  by 
the  General  Assembly.  His  apj^ointmcnt  was  for  four 
years,  and  his  sphere  of  labor  was  throughout  all  the 
surrounding  region.  He  was  a  kind  of  missionary 
bishop,  and  his  duty  was  to  direct  the  routes  of  the 
ministers  sent  abroad  by  the  Assembly,  give  them  ad- 
vice in  executing  their  commissions,  and  look  after  the 
interests  and  welfare  of  the  churches  generally. 

Among  those  who  were  sent  out  with  him  for  shorter 
periods  were  his  own  son,  Robert  H.  Chapman,  who  had 
just  commenced  his  ministry,  Robert  Logan,  who  had 
already  travei'sed  the  region  the  year  previous.  Rev. 
John  Lindsley,  who  subsequently  settled  at  Ovid,  Rev. 
William  Boyd,  of  Lamington,  N.J.,  a  trustee  of  Prince- 
ton College,  and  the  late  Dr.  Pei-rinc,  of  Auburn  Semi- 
nary, then  a  licentiate  under  the  care  of  the  New 
Brunswick  Presbytery.  The  repoi't  of  their  labors 
was  encouraging,  and  inspired  to  renewed  effort. 

In  January,  1805,  James  Carnahan  was  settled  as 
pastor  over  the  United  Society  of  Whitesborough  and 
Utica,  having  previously  declined  a  much  more  inviting 
call  from  the  Dutch  Church  in  Albany.  He  was  of 
Scotch-Irish  descent,  and  was  born  in  Cumberland 
county.  Pa.,  in  1775.  His  early  years  were  spent  in 
labor  on  the  farm.  At  the  age  of  twelve  years  he  was 
deprived  by  death  of  a  father's  care.  In  1793  he  com- 
menced his  classical  studies  at  Canonsburg,  and  in 
1800   was  graduated  at  Princeton.     In  the  following 


NEW  YOKK,    1800-1815.  105 

year  he  was  elected  a  tutor  in  the  college,  and  in  1804 
was  licensed  to  preach  the  gospel. 

In  1811,  on  account  of  the  failure  of  his  health,  he 
was  compelled  to  relinquish  his  charge,  in  which  he 
was  succeeded  by  Henry  Dvvight,  and  subsequently 
engaged  as  a  teacher  at  Princeton,  !N^.J.,  and  at  George- 
town, D.C.  In  1823,  he  was  elected  as  the  successor 
of  Dr.  Green  to  the  Presidency  of  New  Jersey  College, 
and  in  a  successful  administration  of  more  than  thirty 
^•ears  retained  this  responsible  position,  resigning  it  in 
1854,  but  surviving  till  1859,  when  he  had  attained  to 
his  eighty-fourth  j-ear. 

With  few  of  the  gifts  of  genius,  he  was  possessed  of 
strong  good  sense  and  a  remarkably  sound  judgment. 
His  earl}^  life  had  been  one,  if  not  of  hardshij),  yet  far 
removed  from  the  comforts  of  affluence.  He  had  to 
struggle  with  great  difficulty  to  obtain  an  education, 
and  was  enabled  to  prosecute  his  purpose  of  studying 
at  Princeton  by  a  timely  loan  from  Dr.  McMillan.  In 
company  with  Jacob  Lindsley,  who  generously  allowed 
him  to  share  his  travelling-equipments, — one  riding  the 
horse,  which  Lindsley  owned,  for  five  or  ten  miles,  and 
then  tying  him  by  the  roadside  for  the  other  to  mount, 
while  he  proceeded  on  foot, — he  accomplished  his  jour- 
ney across  the  mountains  from  a  point  thirty  miles 
west  of  the  Monongahela  River  to  Princeton.  Here 
upon  his  graduation  he  received  the  highest  honor,  and 
ever  after  maintained  his  rank  as  a  thorough  scholar. 
With  such  training  he  not  only  attained  literary  dis- 
tinction, but  acquired  a  practical  acquaintance  with  the 
common  affairs  of  life.  A  great  student  of  books,  he 
was  a  greater  student  of  men  and  things.  He  was 
equally  at  home  whether  consulted  on  a  question  of 
philosophy  or  agriculture,  the  construction  of  a  sen- 
tence or  a  house,  the  discipline  of  the  mind,  or  the 
ventilation  of  a  dwelling. 


106  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

To  a  stranger  somewhat  stiff  and  formal  in  manner, 
he  was  3'et,  when  social  familiarity  had  overcome  his 
self-distrust  and  reserve,  a  genial  and  cheerful  com- 
panion. Just,  generous,  meek,  unassuming,  j^et  fear- 
less at  the  call  of  duty,  with  a  mind  stored  with  in- 
formation and  anecdote,  a  somewhat  slow  and  cau- 
tious but  accurate  perception,  a  perfect  independence 
in  the  formation  of  his  opinions,  yet  with  a  large 
liberality  for  minor  differences  and  a  scorn  for  every 
thing  petty  or  mean,  he  was  no  unworthy  successor  of 
the  noble  list  of  Presidents, — Burr,  Edwards,  Davies, 
Finley,  Witlicrspoon,  Smith,  and  Green .^ 

In  1801,  James  H.  Hotchkin,  a  licentiate  of  the 
Northern  Associated  Presbj^tery,  took  up  his  per- 
manent residence  as  pastor  at  West  Bloomfield.  At 
about  the  same  time,  Seth  Williston,  who  for  some  time 
had  been  engaged  in  the  employ  of  the  Connecticut 
Society  as  a  missionarj-,  and  had  travelled  extensively 
in  the  new  settlements  of  the  State,  commenced  his 
pastorate,  extending  to  1809,  at  Lisle,^  devoting  a  por- 
tion of  his  time  to  the  destitute  places  around  him. 
In  the  following  year,  David  Higgins,  who  had  per- 
formed missionary  service  in  the  region  under  a  com- 
mission from  the  Connecticut  Society,  began  his  labors 
at  Aurelius.  He  was  the  first  settled  Presbyterian 
minister  in  the  region  known  as  the  Military  Tract, 
embracing  the  counties  of  Caj^uga  and  Onondaga, — 
seventj^  miles  in  length  by  fifty  in  breadth,  and  in  1803 
containing  a  population  of  about  thirty  thousand.  He 
was  a  native  of  Haddam,  Conn.,  a  graduate  of  Yale 
College  (1785),  a  theological  pupil  of  Dr.  Lyman,  Mass., 
and  pastor  of  the  church  in  North  Lyme,  Conn., 
from  1787  to  1801.     In  1802,  he  accepted  a  call  from 


1  Macdonald's  discourse  at  the  funeral  of  Dr.  Carnaban. 
•^  Hotcbkin's  Western  New  lork,  65. 


NEW    YORK,    1800-1815.  107 

Aurelius,  where  he  had  become  well  known  by  bis 
labors  as  a  missionary  of  the  Connecticut  Society.  On 
the  6th  of  October  he  was  installed  by  a  council  of 
Congregational  and  Presbyterian  ministers.  On  the 
5th  of  January  following,  Hugh  Waliis  w^as  installed 
over  the  church  on  the  West  Hill  of  Pompey;  and  on 
the  2d  of  February,  Nathan  B.  Darrow  was  settled 
over  the  church  in  Homer. 

For  several  years  previous  to  the  settlement  of  these 
ministers,  this  region  had  enjoyed  the  transient  labors 
of  missionaries  from  the  Connecticut  Society,  especially 
of  Williston  and  Bushnell.  Eevivals  had  prevailed 
here,  more  or  less,  since  as  early  as  1797.  Several 
churches  were  at  that  time,  or  shortly  after,  organized. 
Among  these  were  Genoa,  Scipio,  Locke,  Aurelius, 
Camillus  (Elbindge),  Skaneateles,  Pompey,  Homer,  and 
Nine-Mile  Creek.  All  of  these  were  established  as 
Congregational  churches. 

In  1803  an  association  was  formed,  denominated 
"  The  Middle  Association  on  the  Military  Tract  and  its 
Vicinity."  It  maintained  its  existence  with  steadily  in- 
creasing numbers  till  1811,  when  it  was  merged  into 
the  Presbyteries  of  Cayuga  and  Onondaga.  Its  con- 
stitution was  modelled  after  that  of  the  elder  associa- 
tion, by  w^hich  ministers  and  churches  were  held  amena- 
ble both  as  respected  doctrine  and  practice.  It  thus 
approximated  to  the  Presbyterian  system;  and  some  of 
its  members,  as  Mr.  Chapman,  of  Geneva,  were  at  the 
same  time  members  of  Presbytery. 

In  August,  1804,  Eev.  AVilliam  Allen,  subsequently 
President  of  Bowdoin  College,  visited  the  field. ^  As  "a 
solitary  horseman,"  he  made  a  journey  of  eight  hundred 
miles  from  Massachusetts  to  Niagara  Falls,  preaching 
as  he  passed  through  "the  "Western  Wilderness,"  when 

1  From  his  letters  in  the  New  York  Evangelist,  Nov.  5,  1803. 


108  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

opportunity  offered,  at  various  new  settlements.  The 
ministers  east  of  the  Genesee  Eiver  were  Mr.  Chapman, 
at  Charlestown,  Mr.  Hotchkin,  at  West  Bloomfield,  Mr. 
Parmele,  at  North  Bloomfield,  Mr.  Collins,  at  Bloom- 
field,  Mr.  Joseph  Grover,  at  North  Bristol,  Mr.  Warren, 
at  South  Bristol,  Mr.  vSolomon  Allen,  at  Middletown, 
Mr.  Field,  at  Canandaigua,  Mr.  Chapman,  at  Geneva, 
Mr.  Higgins,  at  Aurelius,  Mr.  Woodrufi",  at  Scipio,  Mr. 
Chad  wick,  at  Milton.  And  this  was  the  entire  supply 
of  ministers  for  a  region  of  country  equal  to  many  of 
the  petty  kingdoms  of  the  Old  World. 

West  of  the  Genesee  River  to  Lake  Erie,  and  from 
Lake  Ontario  to  the  Pennsylvania  line,  there  was  no 
meeting-house,  no  settled  minister,  or  any  known 
preacher  except  Mr.  Allen  himself  On  his  return  from 
his  journey  he  published  a  brief  "  Plea  for  the  Genesee 
Country."     In  this  he  stated, — 

"  There  is  a  small  church  in  Batavia,  the  county 
town,  in  which  is  a  large  court-house,  which  may  be 
employed  as  a  house  of  worship.  The  town  contains 
two  or  three  hundred  inhabitants,  who  seldom  have 
any  religious  instruction,  and  who  with  thankfulness 
and  joy  would  receive  a  preacher  of  the  gospel. 

"  Ganson's  Settlement  is  twelve  miles  east  of  Batavia, 
and  in  connection  with  it  would  be  able  to  support  a 
preacher.  But  none  is  to  be  found  who  will  consent 
to  penetrate  into  the  wilderness  and  encounter  the 
difficulties  of  a  new  settlement.  Ought  not  their 
situation  to  be  regarded  by  missionary  societies  ? 

"  Besides  Ganson's  Settlement  and  Batavia,  there  is 
another  suitable  station  for  a  missionary  in  Buffalo, 
forty-five  miles  west  of  Batavia,  lying  on  Lake  Erie. 
Here  are  twenty  or  thirty  families,  in  a  very  pleasant 
situation,  and  a  missionary  might  do  much  good  among 
them." 

While   the  progress  east  of  the  Genesee  had  been 


NEW    YORK,    1800-1815.  109 

comparatively  rapid,  so  that  in  1812  the  Synod  of 
Geneva,  embracing  the  Presbyteries  of  Cayxiga,  Onon- 
daga, and  Geneva,  was  constituted  by  the  Assembly, 
the  region  west  of  the  river  was  left  comparatively 
neglected.  For  several  years  after  the  commencement 
of  the  present  century  its  prospects  were  dark  indeed. 
Joseph  Ellicott,  agent  of  the  Holland  Land  Company, 
exerted  a  very  pernicious  and  disastrous  influence.  He 
disregarded  the  Sabbath,  and  was  opposed  to  all  re- 
ligious institutions.  The  whole  surrounding  region 
was  long  noted  for  its  irreligion.  It  was  a  common 
remark  that  the  Sabbath  had  not  found  its  w^ay  across 
the  Genesee  River.  An  infidel  club  was  early  formed, 
and  by  them  a  circulating  library  containing  the  workg 
of  Yoltaire,  Volney,  Hume,  and  Paine  was  established. 
One  or  two  Dutch  churches,  composed  of  settlers  from 
Pennsylvania,  had  been  organized,  but  lingered  out  a 
feeble  and  sickly  existence.  At  Caledonia  a  colony  of 
Scotchmen  was  settled,  and  a  church  was  thei*e  organ- 
ized by  Eev.  Mr.  Chapman  in  1805.  It  was  almost  the 
only  point  where  religious  institutions  could  be  said  to 
be  established.  Ministers  sent  out  by  the  missionary 
societies  visited  the  region  for  several  weeks  during 
each  year,  yet  but  little  was  accomplished.  The  most 
distinguished  laborer  in  the  field  was  "  Father"  Spencer, 
at  first  a  deacon  in  the  Congregational  church  of  Wor- 
cester, in  Otsego  county.  In  mature  years,  with  only 
such  learning  as  an  ordinary  school  education  and  his 
own  reading  and  observation  afforded,  he  entered  the 
ministry.  Licensed  by  the  Northei'n  Associated  Pres- 
bytery, he  was  employed  as  a  missionar}^  on  the  Hol- 
land Purchase  by  the  Connecticut  Society,  and  his 
labors  were  highly  useful  in  forming  and  sustaining 
churches.  Of  these,  in  1812,  some  six  or  eight  had 
been  organized  west  of  the  Genesee  Eiver,  among 
which  were  the  First  Presbyterian  of  Buffalo  (1812), 

Vol.  II.— 10 


110  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTKRIANISM. 

and  those  of  Attica,  Fredonia,  Warsaw,  and  Ham- 
burg. 

The  labors  of  the  missionaries  of  the  Berkshire, 
Hampshire,  and  Massachusetts  »Societies  were  for  the 
most  part  confined  to  other  fiekls.  Few  of  them  pene- 
trated into  the  neighborhood  of  Lake  Erie.  Those 
who  did  so — and  some  were  sent  out  b}*  the  Connecticut 
Society — came  back  despondent.  "  In  many  of  the 
settlements,"^  saj^s  Eev.  R.  Phelps,  "  the  state  of  society 
is  truly  deplorable.  Scarcely  is  the  form  of  godliness 
visible.  The  Sabbath  is  awfull^^  profaned,  and  God's 
name  is  dishonored  in  various  ways.  Great  careless- 
ness and  stupidity  prevail.  .  .  .  Infidelity  abounds  to 
an  alarming  degree,  and  in  various  shapes.  Self-styled 
preachers  of  the  gosj)el,  also,  are  very  numerous.  Mis- 
sionary aid  is  greatly  needed  here."  In  a  similar  tone 
wrote  the  indefatigable  "  Father"  Spencer.  "  I  find," 
says  he  (December,  1808),  "no  special  seriousness  on  any 
minds."  A  later  communication  is  in  the  same  tone. 
The  Connecticut  Society's  Missionary  Narrative  of 
1811  justly  pronounces  this  region  bordering  on  Lake 
Erie  "among  the  most  destitute  in  the  United  States." 

But  already  there  was  promise  of  a  change.  Rev. 
Mr.  Ayer,  in  1811  and  1812,  and  Rev.  Orange  Lyman, 
in  1814,  visited  the  Holland  Purchase  under  commission 
from  the  Connecticut  Society.  Their  reports  were 
more  favorable.  "I  have  been  kindly  received  as  a 
missionary,"  writes  Mr.  Lyman.  "My  encouragement 
with  respect  to  Zion's  cause  in  this  wilderness  is  in- 
creasing," ssijs  "  Father"  Spencer.  He  was  now  begin- 
ning to  see  the  fruit  of  his  labors.  His  perilous  jour- 
neys, exposures,  and  self-denial  had  not  been  in  vain. 
The  people  at  diiferent  places  on  his  route  as  itinerant 
claimed  so  much  of  his  time  at  their  own  expense  that 

^  Conn.  Evan.  Mag. 


NEW    YORK,    1800-1815.  Ill 

he  had  but  seven  weeks  left  foi-  the  Society.  Already 
the  hope  was  warranted  that  the  Holland  Purchase 
would  be  redeemed  for  Christ. 

During  this  period,  the  churches  planted  in  the  more 
central  counties  of  the  State  continued  to  prosper,  and 
new  organizations  were  of  frequent  occurrence.  The 
tide  of  immigration  continued  to  pour  in,  for  the  most 
part  strengthening  the  institutions  already  established. 
The  different  missionary  societies  sent  each  year  such 
of  their  pastors  or  licentiates  as  were  designated,  to 
travel  and  preach  thi-ough  this  extensive  region,  some 
of  them  visiting  Luzerne  county  in  Pennsylvania.  The 
Berkshire  and  Hampshire  Societies  sent  annually  one 
or  two  of  their  ministers,  the  Connecticut  Society  re- 
peatedly as  many  as  four  or  six.  In  1808,  David  nar- 
rower was  in  the  counties  of  Broome  and  Chenango, 
Silas  Hubbard  in  Madison,  Ebenezer  Kingsbury  in 
Otsego,  Delaware,  and  Chenango,  and  Daniel  Waldo  in 
Wayne  and  Luzerne.  In  1809,  Messrs.  Avery,  Brain- 
erd,  Loomis,  Waterman,  Lockwood,  and  Prost  traversed 
the  same  field.  In  the  following  year  the  appointments 
were  Messrs.  Benedict,  Avery,  Kingsbmy ,  Colton,  Brain- 
erd,  and  Frost.  Messrs.  Wright,  Kingsbury,  Benedict, 
Mason,  Hyde,  and  Brainerd  were  commissioned  the 
next  year.  The  labors  of  these  men,  though  generally 
limited  to  a  few  weeks,  were  abundantly  blessed. 

In  harmonious  co-operation  with  these,  the  General 
Assembly  prosecuted  its  missionary  work,  and  very 
much  on  the  same  plan  Pastors  were  found  willing 
to  leave  their  own  churches  for  a  few  months  to  itine- 
rate among  the  destitute  settlements.  But,  as  its  own 
boundaries  were  extended,  it  was  found  necessary  to 
depute  the  charge  of  the  missionary  work  largely  to 
the  Synods.  By  these  it  was  prosecuted  with  com 
mendable  zeal.  The  large  region  of  Northern  Penn 
syh-ania  and  Central  and  Western  New  York  fell  to 


112  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

the  care  of  the  Synods  of  Pittsburg,  Albany,  and  the 
recently-organized  Synod  of  Geneva.  The  most  per- 
fect harmony  of  co-operation  prevailed.  Among  the 
numerous  churches  of  the  Congregational  order  there 
was  a  strong  leaning  toward  a  stricter  usage  than  had 
hitherto  prevailed.  The  Unitarian  defection  among 
the  Massachusetts  churches  had  already  commenced. 
In  many  quarters  it  was  felt  that  a  more  orderly  and 
reliable  system  of  discipline,  which  should  extend  to 
the  relations  of  pastors  and  churches,  was  demanded. 
This  necessity  had  already  been  met  in  the  constitution 
of  the  two  Associations  which  had  been  formed  in  Cen- 
tral and  Western  New  York.  A  favorable  and  fraternal 
spirit  was  manifested  by  these  toward  the  Presbyterian 
system;  and  when  the  Middle  Association,  with  the 
sanction  of  the  General  Assembly,  became  connected 
with  the  Synod  of  Albany,  the  question  as  to  any  State 
Congregational  Association  was  virtually  decided. 

The  Synod  of  Albany  at  first  extended  over  all 
Northern  and  Western  New  York.  But  it  was  too 
large  for  the  convenient  attendance  of  ministers.  It 
was  considered  desirable,  therefore,  that  a  new  Synod 
should  be  formed  embracing  the  Western  churches. 
To  prepare  the  way  for  it,  the  Synod  of  Albany,  in 
October,  1810,  by  request,  formed  the  Presbytery  of 
Geneva  and  the  Middle  Association  into  three  Presby- 
teries, distinguished  by  territorial  limits.  These  were 
consequently  the  Presbyteries  of  Cayuga,  Onondaga, 
and  Geneva.  In  this  manner  Congregational  and  Pres- 
byterian churches  were  brought  into  harmonious  co- 
operation. In  one  case,  the  session  consisted  of  the 
body  of  the  brethren  of  competent  age ;  in  th<^  other, 
of  a  bench  of  elders  elected  by  the  church.  Ministei-s 
were  in  all  cases  installed  in  accordance  with  the  orders 
prescribed  by  the  Book  of  Discipline,  and,  in  case  they 
came  from  other  than  Presbyterian  bodies,  were  re- 


NFAV    YORK,    1S00-1S15.  113 

quired  to  adopt  tho  Confession  of  Faith  and  form  of 
government  and  discipline  of  the  Presbyterian  Chvirch. 
The  principles  thus  adopted  were  acted  upon  elsewhere. 
The  Presbyteries  of  Albany,  Columbia,  Newark,  Sus- 
quehanna, and  others  pursued  a  similar  course.  The 
appeal  from  a  church  congi-egationally  constituted  was 
received  in  the  same  way  with  an  appeal  from  a  session. 
The  pastor  was  a  member  of  Presbytery,  and  the 
church,  either  by  delegate  or  ruling  elder,  was  repre- 
sented in  the  body. 

The  course  pursued  by  the  Middle  Association  of  the 
Military  Tract  exerted  a  decisive  influence  over  the 
action  of  the  other  Associations  of  Central  and  Western 
New  York.  While  the  plan  of  union  with  the  Synod 
was  yet  under  discussion,  the  Ontario  Association  (June 
13, 1810)  met  at  Richmond,  and  aj^pointed  delegates  to 
attend  a  convention  of  delegates  from  other  Congrega- 
tional bodies  in  the  State,  to  take  into  consideration  the 
project  of  forming  a  State  Association.  The  conven- 
tion met  at  Clinton,  in  Jul}'-;  but  it  was  found  that 
great  diversity  of  opinion  prevailed  as  to  the  expe- 
diency of  forming  a  General  Association.  The  Middle 
Association  had  sent  no  delegates,  and  it  was  thought 
by  many  that  the  terms  of  union  with  the  Synod, 
which  it  had  concluded  to  accept,  were  such  as  might 
generally  be  adopted,  and  thus  lay  a  foundation  for  a 
general  union  of  all  the  Congregational  and  Presby- 
terian churches  within  the  State.  In  the  judgment  of 
some,  the  Associations  should  seek  a  union  with  the 
Synod  on  the  same  terms  with  the  Middle  Association, 
while  others  preferred  their  dissolution,  and  a  union 
with  the  Presbyteries  within  their  bounds.  No  steps 
were  taken,  therefore,  toward  the  form^ation  of  a  State 
Association.  The  idea  of  such  an  organization  was 
entirely  relinquished.  The  general  interests  of  religion 
were  felt  to  be  paramount  to  any  indulgence  of  pre- 


114  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTEIUANISM. 

ferences  which  might  result  in  collision;  and  -'many 
of  the  Congregational  brethren,  especially  among  the 
ministry,  thought  that  the  general  jjrinciples  of  Pres- 
byterian govei'nment  were  better  calculated  to  preserve 
unity  of  action  and  purity  of  doctrine  while  in  a  form- 
ing state  and  to  a  great  extent  destitute  of  a  State 
ministry,  than  the  Congregational  form."  The  result 
was  that  the  next  year  the  Ontario  Association  was 
dissolved,  the  ministers  and  churches  united  with  the 
Presbytery  of  Geneva,  and  from  1811  no  Congrega- 
tional organization  of  ministers  and  churches  existed 
for  many  years  in  the  State  of  New  York  west  of  the 
east  line  of  the  Military  Tract. 

The  reasons  for  this  union  were  strong  and  decisive, 
and  its  influence  was  felt  to  be  most  happy.  Between 
the  missionaries  and  ministers  of  both  denominations 
there  was  substantial  unity  in  doctrine.  In  those  of 
either  body  were  to  be  found  subordinate  diversities 
of  sentiment  as  great  as  between  members  of  both 
bodies.  The  missionaries  of  the  Connecticut  SocietV- 
and  of  the  General  Assembly  alike  were  for  the  most 
part  settled  pastors,  and  were  selected  for  their  mis- 
sionary tours  with  discreet  reference  to  their  fitness 
for  the  work.  Great  care  was  exercised  in  the  organ- 
ization of  the  churches,  and  the  forms  of  admission 
and  confession  were  generally  copied  from  those  already 
adopted  by  pastors  in  the  older  States.  One  of  the  first 
acts  of  the  short-lived  Association  of  vSusquehanna  was 
to  examine  the  Confessions  of  Faith  and  Covenants  of 
a  number  of  churches,  to  see  if  they  could  agree  to 
walk  in  fellowship  with  one  another.  As  early  as  1800, 
Williston  wrote  to  the  New  York  Missionary  Magazine, 
in  reference  to  the  revival  of  the  previous  year,  "  The 
doctrines  which  God  makes  use  of  to  awaken  and  con- 
vince sinners  amoug  us  are  those  which  are  commonly 
distinguished   as   Calvinistic."     His   own    well-known 


NEW    YORK,    1800-1S15.  11& 

views  of  doctrine  are  a  sufficient  commentary  ujion  the 
significance  of  his  words. 

The  revival  of  1800,  extending  over  several  counties, 
"  particularly  the  counties  of  Otsego  and  Delaware," 
which  "  comprehended  a  tract  of  country  almost  as 
large  as  the  State  of  Connecticut,"  commenced  at 
Delhi.  "  This  place,"  says  Eev.  Mr.  Bushnell  (Conn. 
Ev.  Mag.,  1801),  "had  been  remarkable  for  stupidity. 
Religion  was  treated  with  contempt,  and  the  little 
church,  consisting  of  three  or  four  male  members,  con- 
cluded that  they  must  soon  become  extinct.  The  re- 
vival began  in  the  month  of  March,  1800."  The  work 
slowly  but  steadily  increased.  About  the  last  of  May 
it  was  powerful  in  the  part  of  the  town  called  Little 
Delaware.  At  the  same  time,  amid  much  opposition, 
it  commenced  in  the  southern  part  of  the  town.  For 
many  months  the  revival  continued,  and  about  fifty 
persons  were  added  to  the  church. 

The  awakening  next  extended  to  Franklin,  seventeen 
miles  west,  where  the  Rev.  David  Harrower  was  preach- 
ing half  of  his  time.  At  Stamford,  ten  miles  north,  the 
revival  was  marked  with  much  power. 

Contemporaneous  with  these  events  in  Delaware 
county,  revivals  commenced  in  Otsego  county,  at  Union 
(Lisle),  Metcalf  Settlement,  and  at  length  at  Spring- 
field, and  subsequently  at  Worcester.  The  meetings 
for  public  worship  were  crowded,  and  the  services  were 
characterized  by  great  solemn it}^.  At  Cooperstown  a 
large  and  respectable  society  had  been  organized  in 
the  summer  of  1800,  and  a  church  formed  by  Rev. 
Isaac  Lewis,  who  was  soon  after  installed  as  pastor. 

In  Cayuga,  Onondaga,  and  Oneida  counties  there 
were  also  powerful  revivals.  Milton,  Scipio,  and  Homer 
were  especially  favored.  Paris  and  Clinton  shared  to  a 
large  extent  in  the  blessing.  The  academy  at  Clinton, 
under  the  care  of  Rev.  Mr.  Niles,  was  also  "  consider- 


116  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

ably  favored."  In  Genesee  and  Ontario  counties  several 
of  the  churches  were  greatly  revived. 

"  These  awakenings,"  says  Mr.  Bushnell,  "in  the  new 
settlements  have  been  regular  and  free  from  enthusiasm. 
Persons  have,  at  the  beginning  of  their  convictions,  been 
solemn,  and  have  manifested  a  great  eagerness  to  hear 
the  word.  As  their  convictions  increased,  they  have 
complained  much  of  the  stubbornness  of  their  hearts 
and  of  their  helpless  state  by  nature.  ...  As  far  as  we 
can  judge,  since  the  commencement  of  the  awakening, 
the  fruits' have  been  the  effect  of  that  wisdom  from 
above  which  is  first  'pure,  then  peaceable,'  &c." 

Yet,  he  says,  "notwithstanding  the  great  revivals 
of  religion  in  the  new  settlements  for  two  years  past, 
a  great  part  of  the  wilderness  remain  stupid  in  their 
sins.  The  tract  of  country  through  which  missionaries 
from  the  United  States  travel  is  several  hundred  miles 
square.  This  tract  has  but  partially  experienced  the 
influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit." 

In  subsequent  years  revivals  more  or  less  extensive 
prevailed,  but  none,  probably,  of  such  power  and  extent 
as  occurred  some  two  or  three  years  subsequent  to  the 
period  under  review.  The  minutes  of  the  Assembly, 
however,  make  grateful  mention  of  the  special  out- 
pouring of  the  Spirit  within  the  bounds  of  Long  Island 
and  Albany  Presbyteries  in  1805,  of  Long  Island, 
Albany,  and  Hudson  in  1809,  Long  Island,  New  York, 
and  Hudson  in  1810,  Onondaga,  Albany,  anc'  Hudson 
in  1S13,  and  Onondaga  and  Oneida  in  1814. 


OHIO,    1800-181J.  UT 


CIIAPTEE  XXVIIl. 

OHIO,    1800-1815. 

While  Western  New  York  was  inviting  immigration, 
the  broader  regions  of  the  farther  West  were  not  with- 
out their  attractions  to  the  hardy  emigrant.  The  com- 
mencement of  measures  for  their  settlement  dates  from 
the  passage  by  Congi'ess  of  the  ordinance  for  the 
government  of  the  Northwestern  Territory.*  Even 
before  this,  i^ortions  of  this  Territory  Ij'ing  upon  the 
Ohio  had  been  carefully  surveyed,  and  the  New  Eng- 
land Ohio  Company,  through  whose  exertions  the 
earliest  band  of  settlers  was  sent  out,  was  formed 
March  1,  1786.  General  Tupper,  an  officer  of  the  Revo- 
lution, a  friend  of  General  Eufus  Putnam,  and  an  as- 
sistant surveyor  of  Hutchins,  who  had  been  appointed 
to  survey  the  Territory  by  the  Congress  of  1785,  was  a 
leader  in  the  movement.  In  concert  with  his  friend 
Putnam,  the  plan  of  a  company  was  devised,  and  by 
the  aid  of  Rev.  Dr.  Manasseh  Cutler,  a  clergyman  of 
Massachusetts,  and  one  or  two  others.  Congress  was 
induced  to  grant  lands  on  favorable  terms. 

In  conference  with  Hutchins,  Dr.  Cutler  was  led 
to  decide  in  favor  of  the  region  embracing  the  Mus- 
kingum Yalley  for  the  proposed  settlement.  The  agent 
of  the  company.  General  S.  H.  Parsons,  after  fuller 
examination,  approved  this  selection,  for  which  General 
Tupper  had  originally  expressed  his  preference.^  The 
territory  which  the  company  expected  to  secure  ex- 


*  North  American  Review,  July,  1838,  p.  12. 
a  Ibid.,  Oct.  1841,  p.  329;  also  July,  1838. 


lis  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

tended  so  as  to  embrace  the  eastern  valley  of  the 
Scioto.  Among  its  attractions  were  not  only  the  soil 
of  inexhaustible  richness  and  the  beautiful  scenery 
which  greeted  the  eye  along  the  banks  of  the  rivers, 
but  the  mineral  wealth  of  salt,  iron,  and  coal  with 
which  the  region  was  supplied,  and  especially  the  com- 
parative neighborhood  of  the  Virginia  settlements, 
which  in  time  of  need  could  furnish  alike  food  and 
men.^ 

By  a  vote  of  the  company,  one  hundred  settlers  were 
to  set  forth  at  once  for  the  land  of  promise.  They 
were  to  be  furnished  with  provisions  for  their  journey, 
and,  from  the  time  of  their  arrival  at  Pittsburg  until 
the  ensuing  May,  to  be  paid  at  the  rate  of  four  dollars 
per  month.  Each  man  was  to  provide  himself  with  "a 
good  musket,  bayonet,  and  cartridge-box;"  and  if  he 
had  besides  these  an  axe  and  hoe,  or,  if  a  mechanic,  the 
needful  tools,  he  Avas  to  be  transported  free  of  cost. 
At  Danvers,  Mass.,  the  first  party  assembled  December, 

1787,  and  a  second  detachment  left  Hartford  Jan.  1, 

1788.  Their  route  was  the  old  road  by  which  Brad- 
dock's  army  took  up  its  march  to  Pittsburg.  But  their 
progress  was  slow,  and  it  was  April  before  the  united 
parties  left  the  Youghiogheny  and  began  to  drift  with 
the  river's  current  toward  the  spot  destined  to  be  their 
first  settlement. 

It  was  on  the  third  day  of  the  month  that  the  May- 
flower^— a  name  significant  to  the  JSTew  England  emi- 
grant,— bearing  the  small  party,  reached  Pittsburg. 
They  had  embarked  at  Simrall's  Fei-ry,  or  Eobbstown, 
v/here  West  Newton  now  stands.  Here  they  had  laid 
in  their  stock  of  provisions  and  made  the  necessary 
jireparations  for  their  voyage.  Merrilj''  did  they  push 
out  into  the  "  Yoh,"  and,  compared  with  their  previous 

1  Wheeling  was  settled  as  early  as  1770. 


OHIO,    1800-181J.  119 

experience,  their  progress  toward  their  destination  Avas 
rapid.  Sometimes  they  grazed  on  the  shallows,  and  at 
others  grounded  on  the  sand-bars.  But  by  dint  of  row- 
ing and  pushing  they  pressed  on  till  they  struck  the 
stronger  current  of  the  Monongahela.  Mooring  their 
uncouth  and  unwieldy  water-craft  by  making  it  fast 
to  a  stake  on  the  bank,  they  landed  at  the  point  where 
the  Ohio  takes  its  name,  and,  after  purchasing  articles 
necessary  for  the  comfort  of  their  families,  continued 
their  voyage. 

On  the  7th  of  April,  1788,  this  little  band  of  forty- 
seven  persons,  instead  of  one  hundred  as  at  first  pro- 
posed, reached  the  mouth  of  the  Muskingum,  and 
landed  and  encamped  on  the  spot  where  Marietta  now 
stands.  This  was  the  original  place  of  their  destina- 
tion. On  the  black  canvas  coverings  of  the  settlers' 
wagons,  as  they  left  their  native  State,  was  to  be  read, 
in  large  white  capital  letters,  "  To  Marietta  on  the 
Ohio."^  Washington  augured  favorably  of  the  pros- 
pects of  the  new  settlement  which  had  thus  been  com- 
menced. "No  colony,"  he  said,"  "in  America  was  ever 
settled  under  such  favorable  auspices  as  that  which 
has  just  commenced  at  the  Muskingum.  Information, 
property,  and  strength  will  be  its  characteristics.  I 
know  many  of  the  settlers  personally;  and  there  never 
were  men  better  calculated  to  promote  the  welfare  of 
such  a  community." 

The  progress  of  the  settlements  for  the  first  year 
was  rapid.  The  first  explorers  of  the  region  had  sent 
or  borne  back  to  the  East  surprising  reports  of  the 
wonders  of  this  new  land  of  promise.  The  beauty  of 
the  rich  river-bottoms  was  suggestive  of  Eden  scenes. 


1  This  was  the  case  with  the  second  emigration.     Flint's  Indian 
Wars.     North  American  Rev.,  Oct.  1841. 
*  Sparks's  Washington,  ix.  384. 


!l20  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

The  soil  was  fabulously  productive  and  apparently  in- 
exhaustible. The  lofty  sugar-tree,  the  graceful  elm, 
the  black  and  white  walnut,  the  massive  oak,  the  spice- 
wood  with  its  fragrance,  the  papaw  with  its  luscious 
fruit,  the  wild  plum,  and,  besides  these,  the  luxuriant 
vines  with  their  bounteous  clusters  of  graj)es  festoon- 
ing the  forest,  while,  beneath,  the  wild  rye,  green  as  a 
wheat-field,  mixed  with  the  prairie-  and  buffalo-clover, 
all  conspired  to  present  to  the  beholder  a  scene  which 
needed  but  the  sj)arkling  rivulet,  rippling  along  its 
pebbly  bottom  or  garlanded  by  flowers,  to  give  the  last 
finishing  touch  to  this  enchanting  picture.  The  memory 
of  it  lingered  in  the  mind  like  some  bright  vision  of  the 
Golden  Age.^ 

It  is  not  surprising  that  the  unparalleled  fertility  of 
the  soil  and  the  luxuriance  of  its  uncultured  vegetation 
excited  in  Eastern  homes  a  strange  enthusiasm.  Immi- 
gration was  for  a  short  time  at  flood-tide.  The  com- 
mandant at  Fort  Harmar  reported  four  thousand  five 
hundred  persons  as  having  passed  that  post  between 
February  and  June,  1788.  At  Marietta  the  settlers 
were  busy  in  erecting  new  dwellings;  and,  had  the  com- 
pany been  prepared  to  receive  and  accommodate  the 
multitude  of  emigrants,  the  progress  of  the  colony 
would  have  been  still  more  rapid.  As  it  was,  Marietta 
continued  to  have  a  steady  and  healthy  increase,  until 
the  Indian  depredations  from  stealing  hoi'ses  and  sink- 
ing boats  broke  out  into  open  war.  From  1790  to  1795, 
the  colony  was  constantly  on  the  brink  of  ruin  from 
the  pressure  of  famine  and  the  hostilities  of  the  Indian 
tribes. 

The  unfavorable  report  of  this  new  state  of  affairs 
reached  the  East  and  gave  a  check  to  emigration.  The 
colony,  moreover,  had  its  enemies,  some  fi'om  jealousy 

1  Autobiography  of  Rev.  J.  B.  Finley,  107. 


OHIO,    1800-1815.  121 

of  its  progress,  or  a  desire  to  encourage  th(  settlement 
of  other  regions.  Horrible  accounts  of  lioop-snakes 
of  deadly  malignity,  caricatures  of  prairie  luxuriance, 
such  as  springs  of  brandy,  and  stalks  of  flax  bearing 
cloth  on  their  stems,  together  with  stories  of  Indian 
barbarities  and  massacres  and  the  unhealthiness  of  the 
region,  were  widely  circulated. 

But  with  the  close  of  the  Indian  wars,  through  the 
victory  of  General  Wayne  in  1794,  Marietta  began 
again  to  prosper.  Vessels  were  built  at  its  wharves  to 
navigate  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  as  far  as  New  Orleans. 
By  the  commencement  of  the  century  it  had  become  a 
thriving  town.  It  was  a  centre  of  business,  a  scene  of 
industry.  The  first  minister  who  entered  this  field  was 
Daniel  Story,*  a  native  of  Boston  (1755)  and  a  graduate 
of  Dartmouth  College  (1780).  In  the  summer  of  1789 
he  supplied  the  congregations  of  Marietta,  Waterford, 
and  Belpi-e.  At  Waterford  the  people  met  for  worship 
under  the  shadow  of  a  huge  tree ;  at  Marietta,  from 
1791  to  1795,  the  Northwest  block-house  of  Campus 
Martins  served  as  a  house  of  worship.  No  church  was 
organized  till  1796;  and  before  Mr.  Story  left,  in  1804, 
the  missionaries  of  Pittsburg  Synod  had  entered  the 
field.  In  1806,  Samuel  Prince  Eobbins,  from  Connecti- 
cut, commenced  his  pastorate  of  the  church  of  Marietta. 
At  the  same  time,  Stephen  Lindslej'-,  a  licentiate  of  the 
Presbytery  of  Ohio  in  1803,  had  commenced  his  labors 
as  pastor  of  a  Presbyterian  congregation,  probably  in 
another  part  of  the  town. 

Some  points  on  the  line  of  the  Ohio  nearer  to  Penn- 
sylvania had  already  been  occupied.  Rev.  Thomas  E. 
Hughes,  previously  settled  in  Beaver  county.  Pa.,  was 
the  first  minister  of  the  gospel  who  was  permanently 
located  north  of  the  Ohio  River.     He  was  a  graduate 


1  Hildreth's  "  Pioneer  Settlers  of  Ohio." 
Vol,.  II.— 11 


122  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANI8M. 

of  Princeton  in  1797,  and,  after  studying  theology  with 
Dr.  McMillan,  was  licensed  by  the  Presbytery  of  Ohio, 
Oct.  17, 1798.  In  the  following  year  he  commenced  his 
labors  at  Mt.  Pleasant  and  New  Salem, — in  the  first  of 
which  he  continued  for  many  years.  As  early  as  1802, 
James  Snodgrass  began  a  pastorate,  which  extended 
through  many  years,  at  Steubenville  and  Island  Creek. 
VYithin  a  short  time  after  this,  there  was  at  Steuben- 
ville— in  another  part  of  the  town,  probably — a  Congre- 
gational church,  under  the  care  of  Lyman  Potter. 

Meanwhile,  settlements  had  commenced  in  the  south- 
western portion  of  the  State.  The  region  between  the 
two  Miamies  had  long  enjoyed  the  reputation  of  being 
one  of  great  fertility.  Boone  had  taken  note  of  it  as 
early  as  1778,  during  his  captivity  among  the  Shaw- 
anese.  The  hostility  of  these  tribes  to  the  whites,  how- 
ever, prevented  any  attempt  at  settlement  previous  to 
the  Indian  Treaty  of  178G.  In  that  year,  Cleves 
Symmes,  a  Congressional  representative  from  New 
Jersey,  became  interested  in  the  accounts  given  of  the 
beauty  and  fertility  of  the  Miami  country,  and,  after 
visiting  it  in  person,  determined  to  purchase  and  settle 
a  large  tract.  In  July,  1788,  he  succeeded  in  starting 
an  emigrant  company  of  thirty  persons  and  eight  four- 
horse  wagons  on  their  journey  to  this  new  country. 
By  January,  1789,  two  settlements  had  been  effected. 
One  of  these  was  at  Columbia,  where  a  few  Baptist 
families  united  to  sustain  a  meeting  among  themselves, 
which  individuals  conducted  in  turn.*  The  other  was 
at  Cincinnati  (Dec.  28,  1788),  then,  and  for  several 
years  subsequent,  known  as  Losantiville.^  On  the  24th 
of   December,  Israel  Ludlow  and  Colonel  Patterson, 

1  Benedict's  History  of  the  Baptists,  p.  877. 

*The  etymology  of  this  word  is  curious: — ville,  town,  and,  oppo- 
site to,  OS,  the  mouth,  L,  of  the  Licking  River. — Cincinnati  Directory, 
1819. 


OHIO,    1800-1815.  128 

two  of  the  proprietors,  with  fourteen  other  persons,  left 
Miiysvilie  "  to  form  a  station  and  lay  off'  a  town  oppo- 
site Licking."  The  river  from  shore  to  shore  was  filled 
with  floating  ice,  but,  by  caution  and  perseverance,  a 
successful  landing  was  effected  A  few  log  huts  and 
block-houses  were  soon  erected,  and  the  settlers  pro- 
ceeded to  lay  out  the  town.  In  December,  1789,  twelve 
months  from  the  fii'st  ai*rival  on  the  ground,  the  popu- 
lation numbered  "eleven  families  and  twenty-four 
bachelors,"  besides  the  garrison  that  had  been  sent  out 
to  defend  this  frontier-post  and  repel  the  incursions  of 
the  Indian  tribes. 

Several  new  stations  were  successively''  occupied  in 
the  surrounding  region ;  but  the  defeat  of  General  St. 
Clair,  Nov.  4,  1791,  sent  dismay  to  the  hearts  of  the 
settlers.  Deserting  their  fields  and  dwellings,  they 
rushed  to  places  of  security,  and  the  fate  of  the  colony 
seemed  to  be  determined.  Immigration  ceased;  and 
only  with  the  victory  of  Wayne  in  August,  1794,  did  it 
recommence. 

But  the  settlers,  largely  emigrants  from  New  Jersey, 
did  not  wait  the  return  of  peace  before  making  pro- 
vision for  the  establishment  of  public  worship. 

When  Cincinnati  was  laid  out  in  1789,  certain  lots 
were  dedicated  to  church  and  school  purposes.  In  the 
following  year,  "  Father"  Rice,  of  Kentucky,  organized 
in  the  place  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  and  the 
religious  society  proposed  to  occupy  the  premises  thus 
set  apart  for  religious  uses.  But  they  found  themselves, 
with  all  the  aid  which  they  could  obtain  in  the  town, 
too  feeble  to  carry  out  their  project  of  building  a  church- 
edifice.  The  premises,  therefore,  were  used  only  as  a 
graveyard.  Meetings  for  worship  were  held  at  a  horse- 
mill  on  Vine  Street,  below  where  Third  Street  has  since 
been  opened,  and  also  occasionally  at  private  houses.' 
J  Cist's  Cincinnati,  1859,  p.  136. 


124  HISTORY    OP    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

For  a  time  the  church  was  dependent  on  occasional 
supplies.  A  Ba])tist  preacher,  subsequently  implicated 
in  Burr's  conspiracy,  sometimes  occupied  the  pulpit 
In  1791,  James  Kemper  consented  to  serve  the  church, 
and  a  number  of  the  inhabitants  formed  themselves 
into  a  company  to  escort  him  from  beyond  the  Ken- 
tucky Eiver  to  Cincinnati.  Upon  his  arrival,  a  sub- 
scription was  set  on  foot  to  build  a  church-edifice. 
Meanwhile  the  people  met  for  worship  upon  a  portion 
of  the  church-lot — partially  cleared — on  the  corner  of 
Fourth  and  Main  Sti'eets,  where,  gathering  in  a  small 
circle,  they  seated  themselves  upon  the  logs,  with  their 
rifles  by  their  sides.  The  precaution  of  defence  was 
not  uncalled  for.  By  sudden  assaults  upon  the  settle- 
ments, the  Indians  carried  terror  to  every  dwelling. 
No  company  could  feel  secure  except  when  well  armed ; 
and  sometimes  the  peaceful  farmer  was  forced  to  flee 
while  he  followed  the  furrow,  leaving  his  team  behind. 

In  1792,  the  house  of  worship  was  erected,*  and  the 
four  lots  devoted  to  church-purposes  were  enclosed. 
The  timber  for  the  building  was  taken  from  the  spot 
upon  which  it  was  erected.  More  than  one  hundred 
persons  subscribed  to  the  object.  Till  1804,  when  the 
church-edifice  was  removed  to  Vine  below  Fifth  Street, 
and  a  large  brick  building  erected  in  its  place,  it  an- 
swered the  purposes  for  which  it  had  been  built. 

For  many  years  after  Mr.  Kemper  left  (1795),  the 
congregation  had  no  settled  pastor,*  and  its  progress 
must  have  been  inconsiderable.  In  1796,  Cincinnati 
was  still  ''  a  small  village  of  log  cabins,  including  per- 
haps a  dozen  coarse  frame  houses  with  stone  chimneys, 
most  of  them  unfinished."'     In  1800,  it  had  but  seven 

1  United  States  Gazetteer. 

*  Rev.  P.  Wilson  supplied  the  church  from  the  summer  of  J  797 
*.ill  his  death,  July,  1799. 

'  Judge  Burnet,  in  Ohio  Hist.  Soc.  Transactions. 


OHIO,    1800-H15.  125 

hundred  and  fifty  inbjibitants,  and  in  1805  less  than 
cue  thousand.  In  lSi)'2,  Matthew  G.  Wallace  was  in 
charge  of  the  church  ;  but  at  length,  in  1808,  Joshua  L. 
Wilson  accepted  a  call  to  the  pastorate,  and  from  this 
time  the  growth  of  the  church,'  as  well  as  of  the  city, 
was  rapid. 

Meanwhile,  the  region  back  from  the  city  had  re- 
ceived an  immigration  estimated  in  1805  at  twenty-five 
thousand.  Dayton  was  laid  out  in  1799;  but  in  1810  it 
numbered  only  three  hundred  and  eighty-three  inhab- 
itants. For  some  years  preceding  this  it  had  enjoyed 
the  stated,  and  finally  the  pastoral,  labors  of  James 
Welsh,  who  for  eight  years  (1796-1804)  had  been  settled 
over  the  Lexington  and  Georgetown  churches  in  Ken- 
tucky. 

In  1799,  the  Presbyter}'  of  Washington,  consisting 
of  seven  ministers,  was  erected  by  the  transfer  of  pas- 
tors and  churches  from  Transylvania  Presbytery,  Ky. 
The  field  it  occupied  embraced  the  region  on  both  sides 
of  the  Ohio  Eiver,  central  to  Cincinnati.  In  1802,  by 
the  erection  of  the  Synod  of  Kentucky,  this,  which  in 
common  with  several  other  Presbyteries  had  been  under 
the  care  of  the  S3'nod  of  Virginia,  was  transferred  to 
the  new  Synod.  In  1802,  it  had  five  pastors  and  thirty- 
two  congregations.  William  Speer  was  at  Chillicothe,'' 
although  he  shortly  after  removed  to  Unity  and  Green- 
burg  in  Eedstone  Presbj'terj^ ;  John  P.  Campbell  was 
at  Fleming  and  Locust,  Ky.,  John  Dunlavy  at  Eed  Oak 
and  Eagle  Creek,  Richard  McNemar  at  Cabin  Creek, 
Ky.,  and  Matthew  G.  Wallace  at  Cincinnati.     Orange- 

1  It  is  a  noticeable  fact  that  the  cliurch  enrolled  the  names  of  the 
baptized  children  as  members,  and  regarded  them  as  subjects  of 
discipline.  The  membership  was  thus  enlarged,  and  in  1795  num- 
bered two  hundred  and  twenty-six. 

2  Settled  there  in  1798,  as  successor  of  R.  W.  Finley,  one  of  the 
first  settlers  in  1796. — Autobiography  of  J.  B.  Finley,  109. 

11® 


126  HISTORY    OP    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

dale  and  Springfield  had  at  that  time  called  John  Thom- 
son. Johnson's  Fall  and  Washington,  New  Market, 
Turtle  Creek  and  Clear  Creek,  Dayton,  Bulack,  Mad 
Hiver,  and  Post  St.  Vincent  were  vacant,  but  able  to 
support  a  pastor.  Those  vacant  and  unable  were 
Mouth  of  Fleming,  Mouth  of  Big  Sandy,  Union,  Brush 
Creek,  Big  Indian,  Duck  Creek,  Williamstown,  High 
Bank  Prairie,  Peeper,  Darby,  Old  Chillicothe,  Buck- 
skin, Paint  Creek,  and  Three  Islands. 

Previous  to  1809,  Honey  Creek  and  Beulah  had  Wil- 
liam Robinson  as  stated  supply;  James  Gilliland,  whose 
anti-slavery  sentiments  had  virtually  driven  him  from 
South  Carolina,  had  commenced  his  pastoral  labors  at 
Eed  Oak^  and  Straight  Ci-eek  ;  Matthew  G.  Wallace 
supplied  Springfield  and  Hambleton;  Robert  Wilson 
was  at  Washington  and  Germantown. 

At  Chillicothe,  in  connection  with  the  Union  Church, 
Robert  G.  Wilson  Avas  settled  in  1805,  and  here  he  re- 
mained until  his  acceptance  of  the  Presidency  of  Ohio 
University  in  1824.^^  At  Columbus  a  church  was  or- 
ganized in  February,  1806,  by  Wilson,  of  Chillicothe, 
and  consisted  originally  of  thirteen  members.^  The 
church  was  located  in  Frauklinton,  on  the  opposite 
shore  of  the  Scioto,  then  the  county-town  of  Franklin 

*  The  church  of  Red  Oak  "is  one  of  the  oldest,  if  not  the  very 
oldest,  Presbyterian  church  in  Ohio."  This  was  the  scene  of  the 
first  public  development  of  New-Lightism  and  of  Shakerism  in  the 
West.  Soon  after  Dunlavy  began  to  preach  as  a  licentiate,  he  settled 
with  a  small  company  of  Presbyterians  at  Red  Oak,  but  he  soon 
became  openly  Unitarian.  When  detected  and  exposed,  he  esta- 
blished a  Shaker  community  in  the  neighborhood,  but  afterward 
removed  to  near  Lebanon.  He  was  succeeded  by  "  Father"  Finley, 
who  got  into  difficulty,  was  suspended  from  the  ministry,  and  died 
here.     He  was  succeeded  by  Father  Gilliland. 

*  Sprague,  iv.  122.  At  Chillicothe  the  first  territorial  land-office 
was  opened  in  1800. 

*  Statement  of  Dr.  Hoge. 


OHIO,    1800-1SI5.  127 

county.  In  October,  1807,  James  Hoge  was  called  as 
pastor,  and  was  ordained  June  11,  1808.  He  was  a 
native  of  Moorfield,  Hardy  county,  Va.,  although  most 
of  his  early  years  Avere  spent  at  Shepherdstown, 
whither  his  father,  ])r.  Moses  Hoge,  removed  in  1787. 
He  was  educated  chiefly  under  his  father's  instructions, 
and  was  licensed  in  1805  by  the  Presbytery  of  Lexing- 
ton. Sent  out  to  Ohio  by  the  Assembly's  Board  of 
Missions,  he  was  present  at  the  organization  of  the 
church  of  Columbus.  When  he  became  its  pastor,  it 
numbered  twenty  members;  and  in  1809  the  number 
was  more  than  doubled. 

At  the  time  when  this  church  was  formed,  there 
was  no  other  north  of  it  to  Lake  Erie,  except  on  the 
Western  Eeserve.  South  of  it  in  the  Scioto  Valley 
were  the  churches  of  Mt.  Pleasant,  Chillicothe,  and 
Buckshire,  now  Salem,  in  Eoss  county.  Within  a  few 
months,  churches  were  established  in  Lancaster,  Zanes- 
ville,  London,  Walnut  Plains  (near  Chillicothe),  Upper 
Liberty  (now  Milford  Center),  and  Lower  Liberty. 

For  the  first  eight  years,  the  preaching  to  Columbus 
Church  was  at  Franklinton.  For  the  next  four  years 
one-half  was  in  Columbus,  and  subsequently  the  name 
of  the  church  was  changed  and  public  worship  was 
held  altogether  in  the  latter  place. 

Within  the  original  bounds  of  the  church  have  been 
formed  the  churches  of  Liberty  (on  Whenstone  Eiver), 
Worthington,  Blendon,  Mifliin,  Truro,  and  Hamilton. 
At  Upper  Libert}',  William  Woods,  a  native  of  Cumber- 
land county.  Pa.,  and  a  graduate  of  Dickinson  College, 
was  ordained  as  pastor  June  14,  1808,  but  was  removed 
by  death  in  1819.  He  was  the  first  pastor  of  Upper 
and  Lower  Liberty,  on  Darby  Creek.  At  Lancaster, 
John  Wright,  a  native  of  Pennsylvania  and  a  graduate 
of  Dickinson  College,  was  the  first  pastor.  He  was 
ordained    an!   installed    in   180G-07,   and    removed   to 


128  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

Indiana  in  1835.  At  Mt.  Pleasant,  James  Eobinson,  a 
graduate  of  Jefferson  College,  was  ordained  in  1808-09, 
and  dismissed  in  1820,  when  he  was  called  to  succeed 
Mr.  Woods  at  Liberty.  In  Delaware  county,  the  first 
pastor  of  the  churches  of  Delaware,  Radnor,  and  Lib- 
erty was  Joseph  S.  Hughes,  son  of  Eev.  J.  Hughes,  a 
graduate  of  Jefferson  College,  and  ordained  in  1811. 
His  death  occurred  in  1822. 

In  1808,  the  Presbytery  of  Lancaster  was  erected, 
numbering  five  ministers, — Wright,  of  Lancaster,  Bob- 
inson,  of  Mt.  Pleasant  and  Eickaway,  James  Scott,  of 
Ebenezer,  Clinton,  and  Frederick,  Stephen  Lindsley,  of 
Marietta,  and  Jacob  Lindsley,  without  charge.  The 
vaoant  congregations  were  Waterford,  Zanesville,  and 
Springfield,  Delaware,  to  which  Mr.  Hughes  was  soon 
after  called,  Crooked  Creek,  Newark,  Worthington, 
Berkshire,  High  Banks,  Scioto  Salt-Works,  Leading 
Creek,  Ohio,  Athens,  Federal  Creek,  and  Salem.  The 
churches  of  Chillicothe  and  Columbus,  or  Franklinton, 
as  it  was  then  called,  remained  as  yet  under  the  care 
of  Washington  Presbytery,  in  connection  with  the 
Synod  of  Kentucky. 

By  their  locahty,  the  churches  thus  gathered  in 
the  Miami  region  came  properly  into  this  connection. 
Several  of  the  earliest  missionaries  and  pastors  in  this 
field  came  from  that  State.  The  settlers  were  in  part, 
doubtless,  from  New  England,  but  more  largely  from 
New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  and  Virginia.  Following 
the  line  of  the  Ohio,  they  distributed  themselves  along 
that  river,  or,  ascending  its  tributaries,  the  Scioto  and 
the  two  Miamies.  located  on  their  banks.  From  the 
close  of  the  Indian  war,  in  1795,  the  immigration 
rapidly  increased. 

For  many  years  after  the  tide  of  emigration  had 
begun  to  populate  Southern  and  Southwestern  Ohio, 
the  region  of  the  Western  Reserve  had  scarcely  been 


OHIO,  1S00-1S15.  129 

explored  by  the  foot  of  civilized  man.  This  re<^ion,  at 
tirst  and  for  years  embraced  under  the  name  of  Trumi- 
bulP  county,  extended  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles 
from  east  to  west,  and,  upon  an  average,  fifty-two  from 
north  to  south.  Its  area  embraces  three  million  acres, 
to  which,  after  the  formation  of  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment, Connecticut,  in  virtue  of  her  original  charter, 
still  laid  claim.  A  compromise  was  at  length  effected, 
the  jurisdiction  being  conceded  to  the  General  Govern- 
ment, while  the  State  retained  the  proprietorshij)  of 
the  soil.  The  Reserve  was  then,  and  for  many  sub- 
sequent years,  known  as  New^  Connecticut.  It  first 
began  to  attract  public  attention  in  1799,  when  the 
population  of  what  now  constitutes  the  State  was  suf- 
ficient to  entitle  it  to  a  Territorial  government,  with  a 
representative  body. 

But  access  to  it  from  the  East  was  difficult.  The 
emigrant  to  Southern  Ohio  could  follow  the  route  from 
Philadelphia  to  Pittsburg,  and  then  float  down  the 
Ohio  to  his  point  of  destination.  But  the  New-Eng- 
lander  must  take  a  tedious  journey  through  the  swamps 
and  forests  of  Western  New  York,  and  then  along  the 
shores  of  Lake  Erie,  unless  he  was  prepared  to 
launch  his  frail  craft  on  its  treacherous  waves,  before 
he  could  set  foot  on  what  ere  long  was  pronounced  the 
El  Dorado  of  the  West.  It  is  true,  he  too  might  take 
the  Pittsburg  route  j  but  this  still  left  him  with  a  track- 
less wilderness  intervening;  between  him  and  the  g-oal 
of  his  journey. 

In  1800,  three  years  after  the  first  settlement  was 
made  on  the  Reserve,  its  population  numbered  just 
eleven  hundred  and  forty-four  white  inhabitants.  In 
the  following  years  the  immigration  rapidly  increased, 

1  In  1774,  Rev.  Dr.  Trumbull,  of  Connecticut,  issued  an  elaborate 
pamphlet  vindicating  the  claims  of  the  State  in  that  region. 


130  HISTORY   OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

and  by  1810  the  poi^ulation  had  exceeded  sixteen 
thousand.  A  large  number  of  these,  though  by  no 
means  the  majority,'  were  from  JS'ew  England;  and 
Connecticut  was  more  hvrgely  represented  than  any 
other  of  the  Eastern  States. 

From  its  position,  the  Eeserve  came  naturally  into 
most  immediate  connection  with  the  churches  of  the 
Pittsburg  Synod.  This  last  body  was  the  first,  in  its 
missionary  zeal,  to  explore  the  field.  The  Ohio  Pres- 
bytery was  jier^aps  unsurpassed  by  any  other  in  con- 
nection with  the  Assembly  in  the  ability,  enterprise,  and 
devotion  of  its  individual  members,  and  the  readiness 
Avith  which  they  welcomed  self-denial  in  order  to  ex- 
tend the  knowledge  of  the  gospel.  The  task  before 
them,  stationed  as  they  were  on  the  ver}^  borders  of 
civilization,  with  new  settlements  springing  up  still 
farther  on  in  the  wilderness  which  seemed  assigned  to 
them  as  their  own  peculiar  field,  was  arduous  indeed. 
But  they  spared  no  effort  to  meet  the  emergency,  and 
the  most  intimate  and  friendly  relations  long  continued 


1  The  Connecticut  Evangelical  Magazine  of  August,  1813,  says, 
"  There  has  been  no  time  in  which  the  majority  of  the  people  of 
New  Connecticut  have  been  natives  of  New  England."  "  Otlier 
parts  of  the  State  have  had  as  great  a  proportion  of  New  England 
settlers  as  that."  The  fact,  indeed,  is  unquestionable.  The  Rev. 
Thomas  Robbins,  whose  characteristic  taste  for  statistics  is  well 
known,  and  who  labored  himself  for  several  years  in  this  field, 
says,  under  date  of  June,  1805,  "Since  the  beginning  of  the  pre- 
sent year,  I  have  been  taking  pnins  to  make  an  actual  enumeration 
of  the  families  in  this  county  (Trumbull  county,  embracing  all  tlie 
region  of  the  Western  Reserve  then  settled).  The  work  I  have  just 
completed.  There  are  families  in  sixty-four  towns.  The  number 
of  families  the  1st  of  January,  1804,  was  about  eight  hundred. 
The  1st  of  hist  January  there  were  a  little  more  thnn  eleven  hun- 
dred ;  of  these,  four  hundred  and  fifty  are  from  New  England. 
There  are  twenty  four  schools  and  seven  churches,  and  more  than 
twenty  places  where  the  worship  of  God  is  regularly  administered." 


OHIO,    lSOO-1815.  131 

to  exist  betwee-.      he  ministers  of  the  Synod  and  llio 
churches  on  the  Iteserve. 

In  the  year  1800,  the  first  permanent  hiborer  in  the 
ministry  entered  the  fiekh  Tliis  was  William  Wiel<:,'  a 
native  of  Southampton,  L.I.,  wlio,  after  spending  his 
earl}'  3'ears  in  the  city  of  New  York,  removed  -with  his 
father's  family  to  Western  Pennsylvania.  He  received 
his  classical  and  scientific  education  at  Canonsburg 
Academy,  and  studied  theology  Avith  Dr.  McMillan. 
He  was  licensed  to  preach,  August  28,  1709,  and  in  the 
course  of  a  few  months,  jirobably  as  a  missionar}'  under 
the  direction  of  Presbyter}-,  he  entered  u|)on  his  la'jors 
on  the  Western  Reserve.  In  the  following  year  he 
was  ordained  and  installed  as  pastor  of  the  United 
(Presbyterian)  Church  of  Youngstown  and  Hopewell. 
To  this  his  time  was  mainly  devoted,  although  he  was 
still  able  to  make  missioiuiiy  tours  in  the  surrounding 
region.  After  nearly  three  j-ears,  a  revival  commenced 
at  Youngstown,  and  among  its  first-fruits  was  a  young 
man  twenty-eight  years  of  age,  who  was  destined  to  be 
one  of  Mr.  Wick's  most  efficient  co-laboi'crs.  This  Avtis 
the  Rev.  Thomas  Barr,  a  decided  Presbj'terian,  the  first 
pastor  of  the  church  at  Euclid  (1810),  but  whose  mis- 
sionary zeal  extended  far  and  near.  At  jSTewburgh, 
Cleveland,  Painesville,  and,  indeed,  in  all  parts  of  the 
Reserve,  his  labors  were  abundant. 

Mr.  Wick  had  labored  but  a  few  months  at  Youngs- 
town   when    he    was    gladdened    l)_y    the    arrival    of 
strange'    from  the  East,  who  on   the   last  Sabbath   a 
1800  pi  .ached   to  the  small   congreg\v^ion  which   Mi 
Wick  had  gathered.     This  was  Joseph  Badger,  the  first 
missionar}'  sent   out   by   the    Connecticut    Missionary 
Society  to  the  Reserve.     Among  all  the  ministers  of 
NcAV  England,  no  one,  perhaps,  could  have  been  found 


'  Spraguc's  Annals,  iv.  44.'>.     TT'st    of  .Jeffer^^on  College. 


132  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

better  fitted  by  taste  and  education  for  the  experience 
of  a  pioneer  missionary.  With  David  Brainerd  his 
parents  were  intimately  acquainted,  and  by  him  two 
or  three  of  their  children  were  baptized.  Joseph  was 
a  native  of  Wilbraham,  Mass.,  and  was  born  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1757.  The  family  soon  after  removed  to  Berk- 
shire county,  and  the  only  advantages  for  education 
which  he  had  were  those  of  the  fireside. 

Three  weeks  after  the  battle  of  Lexington,  though 
less  than  twent}^  years  of  age,  he  entered  the  Revolu- 
tionary Army.  He  was  at  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill, 
and  accompanied  the  exi)edition  designed  for  the  cap- 
ture of  Quebec,  sharing  all  its  hardships  and  dangers. 
After  serving  two  j'ears  in  the  army  and  sinking  under 
disease  almost  to  the  borders  of  the  grave,  he  received 
his  discharge.  But  two  days  after  arriving  on  his 
return  at  New  Preston,  he  was  called  out  to  join  in 
an  attack  upon  the  enemy,  who  had  just  destroyed 
Danbury.  After  ai\  interval  of  a  few  weeks  he  again 
enlisted,  and  when  the  term  of  service  expired  found 
the  two  hundred  dollars  of  Continental  money  which 
he  had  saved  so  depreciated  that  with  the  wliole  he 
could  not  procure  cloth  for  an  ordinary  coat.  After 
weaving  sixteen  hundred  3'ards  of  cloth,  in  order  to 
earn  the  means  to  clothe  himself,  he  determined  to 
devote  his  attention  to  study  that  he  might  be  fitted 
to  occup3^  a  higher  position  in  the  army. 

To  carry  out  his  ])urpose,  he  applied  to  Kev.  Mr.  Day, 
of  New  Preston,  for  the  privilege  of  enjoying  his  in- 
structions. Though  twenty-two  years  of  age,  his 
education  was  so  defective  that  he  used  the  books 
fitted  for  children  of  eight  or  ten  years.  Possibly  he 
may  have  shared  the  lessons  of  the  venerable  ex-Presi- 
dent of  Yale  College,  then  a  little  child  playing  about 
the  house.  But  truths  more  important  than  those  of 
mere  science  now  commanded  his  atteniion.     He  had 


OHIO,  1800-1815.  13a 

often  been  serious  before,  but  liis  impi-essions  had  worn 
off.  Now,  however,  tliey  proved  more  permanent,  and 
his  conversion  was  the  first-fruit  of  a  powerful  revivah 

His  purpose  to  return  to  the  army  was  abandoned, 
and  he  resolved  to  prepare  for  the  ministry.  It  was 
the  struggle  of  indomitable  energy  with  almost  over- 
whelming difficult}'.  His  progress  was  slow.  Some- 
times he  resorted  to  the  loom,  and  sometimes  taught 
school,  to  eke  out  his  scanty  means.  "  Yet  still,"  he 
says,  "  I  dug  awa}',  like  a  miner  after  gold."'  Health 
and  strength  gave  way  under  the  pressure,  and  his 
hopes  seemed  destined  to  defeat.  He  gave  up  the  idea 
of  entering  college.  But,  visiting  New  Haven  with 
Mr.  Day  at  commencement,  he  offered  himself  for  ex- 
amination, and  was  admitted.  Still,  he  had  no  means 
to  prosecute  his  studies.  Teaching  a  singing-school  for 
six  weeks,  he  secured  enough  for  one  term,  and  then 
applied  to  President  Stiles  for  dismission.  "  Oh,  no, 
Badger,"  was  the  reply;  "you  must  not  leave  ;  you  may 
go  and  teach  ;  study,  and  earn,  and  pay  your  bills  as 
well  as  you  can."  He  did  so.  B}'  teaching,  sometimes 
at  a  distance,  sometimes  in  New  Haven,  or  by  waiting 
in  the  hall  and  ringing  the  bell,  he  contrived  to  secure 
the  means  to  prosecute  his  design.  By  constructing  a 
Planetarium  for  the  college  he  received  an  order  on  the 
steward  for  one  hundred  dollars.  In  1785  he  was 
graduated,  and,  after  studying  theology  with  the  vene- 
rable Mark  Leavenworth,  was  settled  as  pastor  of  the 
church  in  Blanford,  Mass.,  Oct.  24,  1787.  Here  he 
labored  in  the  ministry  for  thirteen  years,  and  was 
dismissed  Oct.  24,  18J0,  in  order  to  accept  the  commis- 
sion of  the  Connecticut  Society  for  the  Western  field. 

On  the  15th  of  November  he  started  on  his  journey. 
Sometimes  he  was  detained  for  days  by  storms  of  rain 


1  Am.  Quar.  Reg.,  xiii.  321. 

Vol.  IL— 12 


134  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

and  snow,  and  his  progress  was  often  hindered  by  the 
badness  of  tlie  roads,  which,  as  he  approached  his  des- 
tination, were  merely  a  bridle-path,  and  for  nearly  two 
hundred  miles  he  had  to  lead  his  horse.  The  Maho- 
ning, though  swollen,  he  was  forced  to  swim;  but,  after 
all  vicissitudes,  he  at  length  found  hospitable  shelter 
with  the  Presb3'terian  brother  at  Youngstown. 

Spending  the  Avintcr  and  spring  in  the  southern  part 
of  the  Reserve,  Mr.  Badger  visited  nearly  all  the  settle- 
ments and  families,  preaching  in  ever}'  place  as  he 
found  opportunity.  His  work  was  difficult  and  some- 
times dangerous,  for  there  were  no  regular  roads  from 
one  place  to  another,  and  '^  the  marks  of  intercourse 
were  not  very  plain."  In  Juno,  as  soon  as  the  waters 
were  fordable,  he  visited  the  more  interior  settlements. 
The  4th  of  July  he  spent  at  Hudson.  Thence  he  pro- 
ceeded to  Cleveland,  extending  his  tour  through  the 
northern  settlements.  By  the  request  of  the  Ohio 
Presbytery,  he  went  in  compau}-  with  the  Eev.  Thomas 
Hughes  to  visit  the  Indians  at  Detroit.  On  the  way, 
he  preached  through  an  interpreter  to  the  Delawares 
on  the  Huron  Eiver.  After  accomplishing  his  mission 
he  set  out  to  return  ;  but  exposure  and  hardship  had 
reduced  him  to  such  a  condition  that  he  could  scarcely 
cling  to  his  horse.  Taking  calomel  one  day,  and  an 
emetic  the  next,  for  iive  days  in  succession,  he  was 
brought  so  low  that  he  could  not  mount  Avithout  help. 
Through  the  unexplored  forest  he  directed  his  way  to 
Hudson,  subsisting  for  two  days  on  chestnuts.  After 
a  brief  respite  he  went  to  Austinburg,  and  on  the  24th 
of  October,  1801,  organized  in  that  place  a  church  of 
eiffht  male  and  six  female  members. 

Nearly  a  year  of  service  had  now  expired,  and  Mr. 
Badger  returned  to  Connecticut  to  report  to  the  society 
and  to  bring  back  his  family  for  a  permanent  location 
in  the  region  of  the  Reserve.    AYith  a  four-horse  wagon, 


OHIO,    1800-1815.  135 

which  contained  all  his  movables  and  afforded  trans- 
port for  himself,  his  wife,  and  six  children,  he  set  out 
for  his  new  Western  home.  Through  deep  drifts  of 
snow,  he  made  slow  progress  across  the  mountains  of 
Massachusetts  till  he  arrived  at  Schodack,  on  tie  Hud- 
son. The  snow  now  was  two  feet  deej),  and,  placing 
his  wagon-box  on  a  long  horse-sled,  he  proceeded  on 
his  journe}'.  Crossing  the  river  at  Troy,  he  soon  found 
the  mud  had  replaced  the  snow,  and,  in  attempting  to 
work  his  way,  one  accident  after  another  obstructed 
his  progress.  His  forward  axletree  broke,  and,  Avithout 
help,  he  had  to  mend  it  with  such  tools  as  he  had. 
Four  miles  from  Eatavia  his  wagon-bolt  broke,  and  he 
had  to  pay  two  dollars  for  a  new  one.  At  length,  after 
a  Journey  of  over  two  months,  he  reached  his  destina- 
tion at  Austinburg. 

In  two  weeks  he  had  reared  his  humble  cabin.  It 
had  flooring  enough  on  which  to  spread  the  beds  of  the 
family,  but  neither  a  table  nor  a  chair.  No  door  was 
hung,  nor  were  the  chinks  stopped.  Yet  in  these  cir- 
cumstances he  left  his  family  to  plant  their  garden, 
and  set  out  himself  on  a  missionary  tour  which  con- 
tinued till  the  middle  of  June.  In  an  open  sail-boat 
lie  started  for  Buffalo  to  procure  conveniences  for  his 
family,  and,  after  a  voyage  not  without  hazard,  safely 
returned.  Three  weeks  were  devoted  to  rendering  his 
cabin  more  comfortable  and  to  preaching  in  the  sur- 
rounding region,  when  he  commenced  another  tour,  in 
which  he  visited  the  settlements  in  the  southern  part 
of  the  Reserve.  Next  he  directed  his  steps  toward 
the  lake-settlements,  and  in  December,  1802,  com- 
menced his  winter's  tour.  The  streams  were  impass- 
able in  some  places  and  dangerous  in  others.  Grand 
River  was  full  of  floating  ice;  but  he  had  to  cross  it. 
His  horse  seemed  to  share  his  ow^n  enterprise,  and  in 
April,  1803.  he  returned  again  in  safety  to  his  family. 


136  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

Here  a  letter  from  the  Missionary  Society  informed 
him  that  his  salary  was  reduced  to  six  dollars  per 
week.  This  seemed  to  him  unreasonable,  and  he  wrote 
repeatedly  to  remonstrate  against  a  i)olicy  which  he 
denominated  "  injudicious  and  o])pressive."  But  a  re- 
markable revival  had  been  in  progress  for  months  in 
his  congregation,  and,  though  his  family  wei'e  suffering 
for  want  of  clothing,  he  would  not  leave  the  field.  At 
length,  when  patience  was  exhausted,  he  resigned  his 
commission  from  the  Conne;;ticut  Society,  and  accepted 
an  appointment  as  missionar}^  to  the  Indians  from  the 
AVestern  Missionary  Society  of  the  Synod  of  Pittsburg. 

A  decided  Congregationalist  in  sentiment,  he  readily 
enlisted  under  the  Presbyterian  banner.  The  treat- 
ment he  received  from  the  Connecticut  Society  might 
possibly  have  effected  some  change  in  the  direction  of 
his  sympathies.  But  at  an  early  period — indeed,  soon 
after  he  came  into  the  region  of  the  Reserve — he  united 
with  the  Erie  Presbytery.  There  were  only  three  Presby- 
terian ministers  besides  himself  settled  west  of  the  Ohio: 
of  these  Jacob  Lindley  was  at  Marietta,  Mr.  Hughes  at 
Mount  Pleasant,  and  Mr.  Wick  at  Youngstown.  Knowing 
his  Congregational  sentiments,  they  expressed  their  surprise 
that  he  could  join  the  Presbyteiy.  "  I  believe,"  he  replied, 
"  that  you  are  ministers  of  the  gospel ;  and,  as  I  am  alone, 
I  need  your  watch  and  counsel." 

In  1802,  the  Synod  of  Pittsburg  constituted  itself 
the  Western  Missionary  Society,  and  Mr.  Badger,  as  a 
member  of  the  Presbytery  of  Erie,  participated  in  the 
measure.  To  this  society,  in  conjunction  with  that  of 
Connecticut,  the  new  settlements  of  the  Reserve  looked 
for  aid.  Both  of  them  sent  out  missionaries  to  the 
region  for  longer  or  shorter  periods.  The  Connecticut 
Society  had  the  more  ample  pecuniary  means,  but  it 
could  not  procure  the  men  who  were  willing  to  under- 


OHIO,    1800-1S15.  137 

take  the  long  and  arduous  journey.  Many  a  pastor 
might  be  Avilling  lor  a  few  weeks  to  visit  the  destitute 
regions  of  Yerniout,  or  even  of  Western  New  York; 
but  it  was  a  more  appalling  task  to  pass  to  the  region 
of  the  Ohio  and  the  Lakes.  The  consequenee  was, 
that  for  many  years  the  Connecticut  Society  could  ac- 
complish but  little  for  the  Western  Ecserve.  During 
successive  seasons,  its  missionaries  in  this  field  did  not 
average  at  most  more  than  two  or  three.  In  fact,  it 
was  forced,  meanwhile  (1805-06),  to  apply  to  the  Pitts- 
burg Synod  for  men. 

Until  this  period,  its  missionaries  west  of  New  York 
were  David  Baeon,^  Ezekiel  J.  Chapman,  Thomas  Rob- 
bins,  and  Calvin  Chai:)in.^  But  the  original  destination 
of  Mr.  Bacon  was  to  the  Indians  south  and  southwest 
of  Lake  Erie.  He  entered  u])on  his  work  with  energy 
and  zeal.  Part  of  his  westward  journe}^  was  prosecuted 
on  foot,  at  the  comfortable  rate  of  twenty -five  miles  a 
day.  After  repeated  conferences  with  the  Indians,  anti 
after  exhausting  all  his  tact  and  eloquence  in  appeals 
which  he  admitted  w^ere  sometimes  too  long,  he  could 
make  no  real  progress  in  carrj^ing  out  what  had  been 
a  favorite  project  with  the  Connecticut  Society.  The 
Indians  wanted  no  missionaries.  They  would  like,  in- 
deed, some  of  the  arts  and  comforts  of  civilized  life,  but 
on  the  whole,  through  the  influence  of  their  medicine- 
men, they  preferred  to  take  nothing  of  the  white  man 
but  his  brandy.  The  zeal  and  logic  of  the  missionary 
were  unavailing  to  overcome  their  repugnance  to  the 
gospel;  and,  after  repeatedly  seeming  to  himself  on  the 
verge  of  success,  but  with  the  experience  also  of  re- 
peated failure,  Mr.  Bacon  abandoned  his  undertaking. 
The  society  reluctantly,  but  with   the  thorough  con- 


1  Father  of  Dr.  Leonard  Bacon,  of  New  Haven. 

2  The  late  Dr.  Chapin,  of  Rocky  Hill,  Conn. 

12* 


1§S  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

viction  that  future  effort  would  be  vain,  acquiesced  in 
his  decision.  Early  in  1805,  after  a  visit  to  Connecti- 
cut, he  returned  to  Ohio  to  labor  for  a  portion  of  his 
time  at  Hudson,  Avhile  during  the  other  he  itinerated 
among  the  new  and  destitute  settlements.  He  declined, 
however,  to  accept  his  aj)pointment  from  the  Connecti- 
cut Society.' 

Ezekiel  J.  Chapman  left  Connecticut  in  November, 
1801,  and  for  two  or  three  years,  for  the  most  part 
sustained  by  the  Connecticut  Society,  labored  on  the 
Reserve;  returning,  however,  to  settle  in  "Western  New 
York.  Thomas  Robbing  remained  in  Ohio  for  three  or 
four  years,  leaving  in  May,  1806,  and  Calvin  Chapin 
remained  but  a  single  season. 

The  Connecticut  Society,  as  we  have  seen,  found 
itself  better  able  to  furnish  the  means  than  the  men 
for  the  work.  After  six  years  of  effort,  it  had  but  a 
single  missionary  in  the  field  under  its  patronage. 
Quite  a  number  of  churches  had  been  gathered,  and 
the  needs  of  the  new  settlements  were  urgent.  An 
ecclesiastical  convention^  was  formed,  which  in  April, 
1806,  represented  the  churches  of  Richfield,  Hudson, 
Yernon,  Canfield,  Vienna,  and  Warren,  with  an  aggre- 
gate membership  of  one  hundred  and  sixty.'  Quite  a 
number  of  other  places  demanded  missionary  atten- 
tion. Thousands  each  year  were  flocking  hither  from 
the  East,  and  it  was  utterly  impossible  for  the  society, 

1  Ev.  Mag.,  vii.  282.  2  Conn.  Ev.  Mag.,  xii.  284. 

3  The  early  churches  were  formed  at  the  following  dates: — Aus- 
tinburg,  1801;  Hudson  and  Poland,  1802;  Vernon  and  Warren, 
1803;  Canfield,  1804;  Vienna,  1805 ;  Euclid,  1807;  Tallmadge  and 
Springfield,  1809.— .4ot.  Quar.  Reg.,  viii.  219. 

The  church  at  Hudson  was  organized  by  Mr.  Badger  in  Septem- 
ber, 1802,  and  consisted  of  fourteen  members, — some  of  them  from 
Goshen,  Conn.  In  the  following  year  Thomas  Robbins  commenced 
his  labors  at  Canfield. 


OHIO,    1800-1815.  139 

unless  furnished  with  the  men,  to  meet  the  applica- 
tions made  to  it  through  the  convention  and  other 
channels. 

In  these  circumstances,  it  was  most  fortunate  that 
the  Pittsburg  Synod,  altliough  to  an  ina<U^quate  extent, 
was  able  to  furnish  the  men.  Cauonsburg  Academy 
in  1802,  the  same  year  with  the  formation  of  the 
Western  Missionary  Society,  was  transformed — out  of 
compliment  to  the  newly-elected  President,  or  to  pro- 
cure from  the  Democratic  majority  of  the  State  Legis- 
lature the  necessary  charter — into  Jefferson  College. 
Quite  a  lai'ge  proportion  of  its  graduates,  both  before 
and  after  the  transformation,  entered  the  ministry, — 
not  a  few  of  them  amid  the  scenes  of  the  great  revival 
of  that  region  soon  after  the  commencement  of  the  cen- 
tury. 

These  men  were  trained  amid  scenes  kindred  to  those 
in  which  they  were  expected  to  labor.  They  had  a 
pioneer  education,  and  were  content  to  share  the 
settler's  lot.  William  Wick  at  Youngstown  was  aided 
by  the  Connecticut  Society  for  one  or  two  years,  and 
performed  missionary  labor  under  their  patronage  for 
a  part  of  the  time.  Abraham  Scott,  Jonathan  Leslie, 
Joshua  Beer,  and  James  Boyd,  who  entered  upon  their 
work  in  1808-09,  were  men  furnished  by  the  Synod  but 
sustained  by  the  society.  Scott  became  pastor  in  Jef- 
ferson county.  Leslie  labored  first  at  Harpersfield  and 
subsequently  at  Westfield.  Beer  was  settled  at  Suffield 
and  Springfield,  and  Boyd  at  Warren  and  Newton. 
Thomas  Barr,  converted  under  the  ministry  of  Mr. 
Wick  at  Youngstown,  was  settled  at  Euclid  in  August, 
1810;  and  Avithin  a  year  or  two  after,  three  ministers 
were  sent  out  from  New  England,  viz. :  Giles  H.  Cowles 
(previously  jiastor  in  Bristol,  Conn.),  who  settled  at 
Austinburg,  John  Seward,  Avho  settled  at  Aurora,  and 
John  Field,  who  became  pastor  of  Burton. 


140  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM, 

Besides  these,  Nathan  B.  Derrow,  originally  from 
New  England,  but  who  had  been  settled  for  several 
years  at  Homer,  N.Y.,  where  his  labors  had  been  blessed 
with  successive  revivals,  removed  to  the  Eeserve,  and 
was  settled  at  Vienna  in  1807.  He  lingered  here,  how- 
ever, only  for  a  few  years,  till  the  impulse  of  the  wave 
of  emigration  bore  him  on  to  Western  Ohio  and  In- 
diana, where  we  shall  meet  him  again. 

Through  the  labors  of  these  men  mainl}^,  and  their 
coadjutors, — ^missionaries  sent  out  by  the  Sj^nod  of 
Pittsburg  and  the  General  Assembly, — the  wilderaess 
began  to  show  signs  of  culture.  By  1808,  at  least 
from  fifteen  to  twenty  churches  had  been  organized. 
The  missionaries  reported  ''  a  growing  respect  for  the 
institixtions  of  heaven."  "  People  in  general  here," 
writes  Ptev.  Abraham  Scott'  (September,  1809),  "profess 
a  desire  for  the  gospel.  They  appear  in  some  measure 
to  dread  the  consequences  of  being  without  it,  and  that 
both  in  respect  to  themselves  and  their  posterity."  "  It 
is  to  be  lamented,"  saj'S  Mr.  Derrow,  "that  there  are 
not  more  clergymen  in  the  country."  "  In  New  Con- 
necticut," Avrites  Rev.  J.  Leslie ''  (1808),  "prospects  are 
flattering.  Preaching  has  been  ver}^  general  in  it  this 
summer,  and  many,  I  hope,  are  bowing  to  the  conquer- 
ing Jesus."* 

The  people  generally  were  "anxious  for  schools,  far 
beyond  their  circumstances."  Tliis  was  a  pleasing  fact 
to  the  missionaries.  Wisely  enough,  they  were  "  espe- 
cially mindful  of  children  and  youth."  They  visited 
the  schools  and  catechized  the  pupils.  The  prospects 
of  religion  were,  on  the  whole,  i-egarded  as  promising. 

It  is  true,  there  were  deplorable  exceptions.  In  some 
towns  of  from  twelve  to  fifteen  families  not  a  praying 


1  Ordained  by  Ohio  Presbytery  .July  12,  1808. 

2  Reports  to  the  Connecticut  Society.  '  Ibid. 


OHIO,    1800-1815.  141' 

person  could  be  found.  In  others,  "it  seemed  to  be  for- 
gotten that  the  Lord  hud  a  Sabbath."  And  elsewhere, 
again,  "open  intidelit}'  was  notorious  and  insolent,  lift- 
ing up  in  affected  scorn  its  brow  of  brass  and  its  neck 
of  iron."  But  "  the  number  of  praying  societies  in- 
creased. Pious  characters  were  more  engaged  and  fer- 
vent. The  Sabbath  was  more  seriously  respected.  The 
ungodly  in  many  places  were  more  attentive,  at  least 
to  the  externals  of  religion." 

Nor  had  the  churches  been  without  special  evidences 
of  the  presence  and  power  of  the  Spirit.  Even  in  their 
feeble  and  destitute  condition  they  were  repeatedly 
visited  by  revivals.  These  commenced,  indeed,  almost 
contemporaneously  with  the  settlement  of  the  region. 
The  powerful  influence  of  the  great  awakening  within 
the  bounds  of  Pittsburg  Synod  in  ]S02-'J3,  extended  to 
the  Reserve.  The  earliest  ministers  of  this  region, 
Messrs.  Badger  and  Pobbins, — to  say  nothing  of  minis- 
ters of  the  Synod  who  labored  alike  in  the  revival  and 
on  the  missionary  tield, — had  visited  the  churches  in 
which  the  revival  prevailed,  on  their  westward  journey, 
or  had  personally  participated  in  its  remarkable  scenes. 
Having  witnessed  there  the  "falling  exercises,"  they 
were  not  altogether  surprised  when  they  occurred 
under  their  own  labors  on  the  Eeserve.  Numbers, 
however,  were  converted.  Solemn  and  privileged 
seasons  were  enjoyed,  and  the  churches  were  refreshed, 
before  any  thing  more  marked  transpired.  At  length 
persons  began  to  "  fall."  This  Avas  the  case  more 
especially  under  the  preaching  of  Mr.  Badger.  Those 
affected  belonged  to  no  single  class,  although  they  were 
generall}'  the  more  youthful  part  of  the  congregation. 
At  length  these  features  of  the  revival  disappeared, 
and  do  not  seem  to  have  been  witnessed  at  an}^  subse- 
quent period.  The  churches,  however,  still  enjoyed 
the  special  outpouring  of  the  Spirit.     From  1807  to 


142  HISTORY   OF   PRESBYTERIANISM, 

1809,  there  was  "  more  or  less  of  au  awakening  in 
many  towns." 

In  the  autumn  of  1808,  the  Synod  of  Pittsburg 
erected  the  Presbytery  of  Hartford.  It  was  formed 
largely  from  the  ministers  of  Erie  Presbytery,  some 
of  whom  were  settled  on  the  Eeserve,  while  its  bounds 
were  extended,  at  the  request  of  the  Ecclesiastical  Con- 
vention already  mentioned,  so  as  to  include  the  chui'ches 
in  its  connection.  The  members  of  the  Presbytery  Avere 
Thomas  E.  Hughes  at  Mt.  Pleasant,  Pa.  (1799-1831), 
William  Wick  at  Youngstown  and  Hopewell  (1800-15), 
Joseph  Badger,  James  Satterfield  at  Moorfieid  (1801- 
34)  and  Neshanock  (1801-12),  Benjamin  Boyd  at 
Beulah,  Trumbull,  and  Pymatuning  (1806-09),  Nicholas 
Pittenger  at  Westfield  (1805-09)  and  Poland  (1805-10), 
Clement  Valandingham  at  New  Lisbon  (1807-39)  and 
Long's  Run  (1807-17),  and  Johnston  Eaton  (1808)  at 
Springfield  and  Fairview.^ 

The  accessions  to  the  Presbytery  were  James  Boyd 
at  Newton  and  Warren  (1808-13),  John  Bruce  at 
Ellsworth  (1810-15),  Thomas  Barr  at  Euclid  (1810-20), 
Joshua  Beer  at  Springfield  (1810-15),  Eobert  Semple 
at  New  Castle  (1811-37)  and  Slippery  Rock  (1811-34), 
Giles  H.  Cowles  at  Austinburg  (1812-35)  and  Morgan 
(1812-18),  Ezekiel  Glasgow  at  Beavertown  and  New 
Salem  (1813-15),  Jonathan  Leslie  at  Harpersfield 
(1814-20),  William  Matthews  at  Neshanock  (1814-15), 
and  James  Wright  at  Poland  (1815-32)  and  Westfield 
(1815-41). 

In  1810,  the  ministers  of  the  Presbytery  numbered 
thirteen;  two  of  whom,  Alexander  Cook  and  Jonathan 
Leslie,  were  without  charge.  But  the  demands  of  the 
field  required  at  least  twice  or  thrice  the  number  of 
laborers.     The  Connecticut  Society  exerted  itself  to 


1  Transferred  to  Erie  Tresbytcry  in  1812. 


OHIO,    1800-1815.  143 

send  out  more;  but  Jolm  Field  and  John  Seward  were 
the  onl}-  names  added  to  the  missionary  list  in  1811. 
By  the  Synod  of  PiLtshuri;  and  the  General  Assembly 
quite  a  large  number  of  Juen  were,  during  suceessive 
years,  sent  into  the  field,  but  these  remained  often  but 
a  few  weeks  or,  at  most,  months.  Yet  there  was  steady 
jirogress,  and  revivals  were  not  infrequent.  Mr.  Seward, 
too,  traversing  extensively  the  entire  region  of  the  Re- 
serve to  enlarge  his  knowledge  of  the  country,  found — 
notwithstanding  great  destitution  of  religious  princi- 
ples— "some  in  many  places  who  are  uncommonly 
engaged  about  religion,"  while  "  some  places  Avere 
favored  with  the  influences  of  the  Spirit  in  a  great 
degree." 

In  1810,  Alexander  Cook,  a  missionar}'  of  the  As- 
sembly, made  an  extensive  tour  throughout  the  State 
From  his  own  residence — Sli])pery  Rock  and  New 
Castle  were  his  pastoral  charge — he  took  a  westerly 
course  to  the  Scioto.  This  extensive  region  was  rapidly 
filling  up  with  "  emigrants  from  every  State."  Their 
manners  and  habits,  as  might  have  been  expected,  were 
"  not  a  little  discordant."  Yet  he  says,  "  In  every 
neighborhood  through  which  I  passed,  some  of  God's 
dear  children  are  to  be  found."  In  many  places,  in  the 
lack  of  preaching,  they  had  established  prayer-meet- 
ings, and  the  effect  had  been  happy.  A  restraining  in- 
fluence was  thus  exerted  over  the  community,  and  ''the 
dissolute  part"  were  kept  "  from  hunting  on  the  Sab- 
bath." 

"  Near  the  Tuscarora  River,"  he  writes,  "  I  formed 
several  congregations,  and  was  the  first  who  preached 
the  gospel  among  them.  In  some  instances  we  had 
moving  and  melting  scenes."  Passing  near  the  forks 
of  the  Sandy,  where  he  preached,  Mr.  Cook  took  thence 
a  northerly  course  to  Lake  Erie.  In  the  Connecticut 
Reserve  there  was  '•'  ample  field  for  labor."  He  preached 


144  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM, 

every  day  and  made  many  visits  to  families.  Amid  his 
exhaustion,  his  inind  ''  was  much  comforted  by  discover- 
ing a  prevailing  taste  for  divine  things."  From  the 
Reserve  he  travelled  westward  along  the  lake.  He 
met  the  Presbytei'y  of  Hartford  at  Euclid,  and  received 
an  appointment  to  preach  at  Cleveland.  He  went 
thither,  but  the  field  was  a  hard  one.  "  Here,"  he 
wrote,  "  Satan  keeps  his  strongholds."  Infidelit}^  here 
walked  "  in  brazen  front."  Remonstrance,  tears,  and 
entreaties  were  vain  to  stop  the  mouths  of  the  scoffers. 

Rev.  Samuel  Tait  labored  in  the  region  between 
Alleghany  and  Lake  Erie  in  the  summer  and  fall  of 
1810.  He  travelled  six  hundred  and  thirty  miles  and 
preached  fifty-seven  sermons.  His  reception  was  hos- 
pitable and  his  labors  were  blessed.  "  In  every  con- 
gregation," he  sa3'S,  "  there  was  earnest  pressing  for 
more  preaching.  It  is  with  })ain  I  look  over  our  wilder- 
ness and  see  some  hardened  in  sin,  some  beginning  to 
ask  what  they  shall  do  to  be  saved,  and  some  mourning 
when  they  think  on  ancient  days,  when  they  used  to 
go  to  the  house  of  God,  and  none  to  go  forth  to 
warn,  to  guide,  or  to  comfort  them.  .  .  .  The  vacant 
congregations  are  looking  up  to  the  Assembly  to  extend 
their  benevolence  to  them  as  in  years  past." 

In  the  course  of  1811,  several  new  churches  w^ere 
organized  by  Mr.  Derrow.  Mr.  Leslie,  on  his  mis- 
sionary tour,  found  "the  people  making  exertions  to 
form  themselves  into  Ecclesiastical  Societies,  and,  ac- 
cordino;  to  their  abilitv,  to  furnish  themselves  with  the 
gospel  ministry."  Mr.  Boyd's  experience  was  similar. 
Mr.  Scott  reported  tliat,  "in  general,  thei-e  is  great  ap- 
parent attention  under  preaching.  In  some  places 
there  is  consideral)le  solemnity.  ...  In  almost  every 
place  I  have  visited,  the  people  have  solicited  me  to 
visit  them  as  mucli  as  possible." 

At  Euclid,  under  tlie   labors  of  Mr.  Barr,  a  people 


OHIO,    1800-1815.  145 

who  had  been  "  deplorably  sunk  in  ignorance  and 
error"  had  become  "  solemn  and  engaged  about  re- 
ligion." Many  were  inquiring,  and  conversions  were 
frequent.  "  The  change  in  that  part  of  the  wilderness 
is  so  great,  and  the  attention  to  religion  so  earnest, 
that  Christians  feel  themselves  called  to  acknowledge 
the  hand  of  God  with  gratitude,  and  praise  him  for 
his  wonderful  works.  God  carries  on  his  work  although 
errors  and  enmities  oppose." 

During  the  year  closing  October,  1812,  the  Connecti- 
cut Society  had  been  the  means  of  procuring  for  the 
Eeserve  the  amount  of  two  hundred  weeks  of  mis- 
sionary labor.  A  considerable  portion  of  this  was  from 
the  missionary  tours  of  settled  pastors,  for  a  portion 
of  the  year.  They  found  much  encouragement,  and 
generally  received  a  hearty  welcome  wherever  they 
went.  Many  societies  were  asking  for  preachers,  at 
least  a  part  of  the  time.  Missionary  labor  was  "thank- 
fully received"  by  the  greater  part  of  the  population. 
It  was  not  mere  compliment.  "Many,  with  tears," 
says  Mr.  Boyd,  "  will  speak  of  their  destitute  situation, 
not  having  a  sermon  on  the  Sabbath  more  than  twice 
or  thrice  in  the  year,  and  urgently  solicit  us  to  visit 
them  again."  Mr.  Barr  speaks  of  his  cordial  reception 
in  almost  every  place,  and  "  the  anxiety  of  the  people 
to  hear  the  gospel."  In  the  northern  part  of  the  Re- 
serve, in  the  neighborhood  of  Vienna,  where  Mr.  Der- 
row  was  settled,  a  number  of  towns  were  "  visited  by 
the  effusions  of  the  Spirit,"  and  "  the  wilderness  became 
vocal  with  the  praises  of  God."  This  was  the  case  also 
in  a  part  of  the  region  around  Austinburg,  where  Mr, 
Oowles  was  laboring. 

Meanwhile,  the  tide  of  immigration  continued  to  pour 
in.  "Assemblies  for  public  worship,"  says  Mr.  Scott, 
"  are  considerably  more  numerous  than  formerly,  owing 
principally  to  our  growing  population.''     Revivals  pre- 

VoL.  II.— 13 


146  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

vailed  in  many  places.  This  was  the  ease  especially  in 
Portage  county,  and  in  the  vicinity  of  Aurora,  where 
the  Rev.  John  Seward  was  settled  in  August  (5),  1812. 
From  a  state  of  stupidity,  the  people  were  "quickened," 
and  became  "zealously  engaged  in  the  great  concern." 
Bold  opposers  were  humbled  and  deeply  impressed. 
Quite  a  number  of  the  aged  were  converted,  and  many 
heads  of  families  began  "the  pi-actice  of  worshipping 
God  with  their  households."  In  the  extent  of  the 
change  wrought,  the  town  of  Tallmadge  was  specially 
mentioned.  Yet  in  this  and  five  other  places  in  the 
same  neighborhood,  the  people,  though  desirous  of  pas- 
toral labor,  could  not  procure  it. 

Up  to  this  period,  there  had  been  almost  uninter- 
rupted religious  progress  throughout  the  Reserve.  But 
the  prospects  of  the  churches  were  now  darkened  from 
divers  causes.  The  war  with  England  had  commenced. 
Some  of  the  settlers  were  di*afted  for  the  army.  Interest 
in  religious  truth  was  displaced  by  patriotic  anxiety  or 
military  alarm.  A  false  report  that  the  enemy  had 
landed  at  Cleveland  led  Mr.  Barr  Avith  all  his  flock  to 
a  hasty  retreat.  They  took  what  goods  they  could 
pack  up  with  them,  and  fled  many  miles  before  they 
were  apprized  of  their  mistake.  Other  communities 
suffered,  but  not  to  the  same  extent.  Still,  "  the  effects 
of  the  war,"  says  Mr.  Boyd,  "  are  sensibly  felt  in  con- 
sequence of  so  many  of  our  inhabitants  being  called 
forth  in  our  defence." 

This,  however,  was  not  the  only  cause  of  anxiety. 
In  consequence  of  the  lack  of  educated  ministers, 
ignorant  ranters  and  teachers  of  error  found  an  open 
field.  They  crowded  into  places  where  seriousness 
prevailed,  to  turn  the  people  away  from  the  truth.  In 
some  instances  they  did  great  mischief 

But  the  general  character  of  the  population  had 
already  received  a  permanent  impression.     The  future 


OHIO,    1800-1815.  147 

was  evidently  promising.  The  intervention  of  the  war 
prevented  for  a  time  the  movement  which  resulted  in 
the  formation  of  the  First  Presbytery  of  Northern 
Ohio, — that  of  Grand  Eivcr,  in  1814.  Yet,  as  the  sounds 
of  conflict  died  away,  and  the  blessings  of  peace  were 
restored,  the  Presbyteries  entered  with  fresh  hope  upon 
the  broad  and  inviting  field. 

Outside  of  the  Ecserve,  the  Connecticut  Society  had 
but  a  single  missionary  in  their  emjiloy,  within  the 
bounds  of  the  State.  This  was  the  Rev.  Timothy 
Harris,^  in  the  counties  of  Muskingum  and  Delaware. 
He  was  appointed  to  itinerate  as  a  missionary  in  the 
Bettlements  around  the  town  of  Granville,  where  he 
was  located  as  pastor  of  the  church.  This  body  had 
emigrated  from  the  town  of  Granville,  Mass.,  where  it 
had  been  organized  in  1804  with  twenty-seven  mem- 
bers. Three  years  after  this,  Mr.  Harris  arrived  and 
entered  upon  his  labors  in  connection  with  the  church. 
He  was  the  only  pastor  in  the  region,  and  he  willingly 
accepted  a  commission  from  the  Connecticut  Society 
for  such  a  portion  of  his  time  as  he  could  be  spared 
from  the  people  of  his  stated  charge.  His  labors  were 
not  in  vain.  He  writes  (Oct.  14,  1809),  "I  have  reason 
to  believe  that  God  in  some  measure  smiled  on  my 
labors.  Prospects  where  I  have  been  are  encouraging." 
The  following  j^ear  he  devoted  more  time  to  the  mis- 
sion-field around  him,  and  speaks  of  it  with  more  con- 
fident hope.  Visiting  from  house  to  house  through  the 
week,  his  efforts  were  blessed  to  the  conversion  of 
many,  while  ''  Sabbath  assemblies  were  invariably  full 
and  solemn."  In  many  places,  he  found  some  to  wel- 
come him  at  times  even  with  tears.  "Like  Mary,  they 
were  ready  to  sit  at  the  feet  of  Jesus  and  catch  in- 


^  His  predecessor  in  this  field  for  a  short  time  was  Rev.  James 
Scott. 


't4B  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

Btruction,  blessing  God  for  the  opportunity ;"  or,  "  like 
Lot  in  Sodom,  they  were  preserved  to  bear  witness  for 
the  truth/'  At  the  same  time,  irreligion  and  vice  were 
fearfully  prevalent.  In  some  settlements  he  found  that 
year  after  year  had  passed  without  witnessing  a  wor- 
shipping assembly.  The  people  did  not  know  how  to 
behave  themselves  decently  when  they  were  called 
together.  Urgent  was  the  necessity  for  more  laborers. 
The  Connecticut  Society  made  a  single  appointment; 
but  even  that  was  not  fulfilled. 

On  the  southern  border  of  the  State  the  prospect 
was  far  less  encouraging.  From  Steubenville  to  Mari- 
etta— one  hundred  and  ten  miles — there  was  no  minister. 
Mr.  Schermerhorn,  who  accompanied  Samuel  J.  Mill;^ 
on  his  Southwestern  tour  in  the  autumn  of  1812,  pro- 
posed to  the  people  boi-dering  on  the  Ohio  the  esta- 
blishment of  a  missionary  route.  The  pi-oposal  was 
kindly  received,  but  the  difficulty  was  to  procuz*e  a 
preacher.  Many  counties  of  the  State  were  altogether 
destitute  of  a  Presbyterian  or  Congregational  ministry. 
Many  others  had  but  one,  whose  charge  extended  over 
two,  and  often  over  three,  churches.  In  all,  there  were 
twenty-four  clergymen  in  the  State,  exclusive  of  the 
Western  Eeserve.  Three  of  these  were  Congregation- 
alists;  although  one  of  the  number  was  without  charge. 
*  The  names  of  the  three,  as  given  by  Mr.  Mills,  were 
Potter,  Eobbins,  and  Harris.  Potter  was  at  Steuben- 
ville, Eobbins  at  Marietta,  and  Harris  at  Granville. 

In  1814,  the  S^niod  of  Ohio  was  erected.  It  consisted 
of  the  Presbyteries  of  Lancaster,  Washington,  and 
Miami.  Of  these,  the  two  last  had  been  connected 
with  the  Sjniod  of  Kentuck}^,  as  the  first  had  been 
with  the  Synod  of  Pittsburg. 

Lancaster  Presbytery  had  been  erected  in  1808,  and 
consisted,  as  already  stated,  of  five  ministers.  At  the 
time  of  its  transfer  to  form  the  Ohio  Synod,  six  of  its 


OHIO,    lSOO-1815.  149 

twenty-four  vacancies  bad  been  supplied.  Five  new 
laborers,  James  Cunningbani  (Salem  and  Fearing), 
George  Yanneman,  William  Jones  (Circleville  and  Wal- 
nut Plains),  Josepli  S.  Hughes  (Delaware  and  Liberty), 
and  James  Culbertson  (Zanesville  and  Springfield),  had 
entered  the  field. 

The  erection  of  the  Presbytery  of  Washington  by 
the  Synod  of  Kentucky  was  one  of  its  first  acts  after 
it  had  been  constituted  in  1802.  The  list  of  its  original 
membership  has  been  already  given.  At  the  time  of 
its  transfer  to  form  Ohio  Synod,  its  list  of  members 
had  been  greatly  enlarged.  In  1805,  Eobert  Gr.  Wilson, 
•a  native  of  North  Carolina  and  a  graduate  of  Dick- 
inson College,  had  accepted  the  call  of  the  small  church 
just  gathered  at  Chillicothe,  dividing  his  labors  for 
several  years  between  it  and  Union  Church,  five  miles 
distant.  With  an  insufficient  maintenance,^  but  with 
a  cheerful  self-denial,  he  prosecuted  his  labors.  In  con- 
junction with  Dr.  James  Iloge,^  sent  out  shortly  after 
by  the  General  Assembly  as  a  missionary  in  Ohio,  he 

1  So  scant  was  his  support  that,  in  order  to  procure  the  means  of 
subsistence,  he  reluctantly  accepted  the  office  of  postmaster  of  the 
town.  One  of  the  Assembly's  missionaries  who  visited  him  found 
him  "living  in  a  cabin  of  a  single  apartment,  prosecuting  his 
studies  and  performing  his  ministerial  duties  with  as  great  assiduity 
and  cheerfulness  as  if  he  had  been  favored  with  all  the  advantages 
of  a  comfortable  home  and  refined  society."  With  great  force  of 
character,  untiring  energy,  and  devotion  to  his  work,  he  continued 
to  discharge  the  laborious  duties  of  his  pastorate,  till  called  to  the 
Presidency  of  the  Ohio  University  at  Athens. 

2  In  the  year  1805,  James  Hoge  performed,  by  appointment  of 
the.  General  Assembly,  a  six-months  missionary  tour  in  the  State, 
and  during  the  time  assisted  in  organizing  the  church  of  Columbus, 
of  which  he  was  two  years  later  ordained  and  installed  as  pastor. 
Here  for  a  long  series  of  years  he  was  permitted  to  remain,  the 
missionary  patriarch  of  an  extended  region,  which  he  lived  to  see 
covered  with  churches,  many  of  wliich  he  assisted  to  organize. 


150  HISTORY    OF   PRESBYTERIANISM. 

organized  the  first  church  of  Columbus,  over  which  Dr. 
Hoge  was  subsequent!}^  ordained  pastor.  Opposed,  ou 
principle,  to  any  connection  with  slavery,  his  sj^mpa- 
thies  removed  him  from  North  Carolina,  his  native 
State,  to  the  northern  banks  of  the  Ohio ;  and  here,  as 
pastor  of  a  church,  and  subsequently  President  of  Ohio 
University,  he  completed  a  long  and  useful  life. 

More  decided  in  his  anti-slavery  feeling  was  another 
member  of  the  Presbytery,  who  united  with  it,  like 
Wilson,  from  the  Carolinas.  This  was  James  Gilliland, 
also  a  graduate  of  Dickinson  College,  and  a  licentiate 
of  the  Presbytery  of  South  Carolina.  His  zeal  on  the 
subject  of  emancipation  in  his  native  State  subjected 
him  to  embarrassment,  and  the  matter  was  brought  to 
the  attention  of  Synod.  The  Presbytery  had  enjoined 
upon  him  silence  in  the  pulpit  on  this  subject,  and  the 
Synod  declared  itself  of  opinion  that  "  to  preach  pub- 
licly against  slavei'y  in  present  circumstances,  and  to 
lay  down  as  the  duty  of  every  one  to  liberate  those 
who  are  under  their  care,  is  that  which  would  lead  the 
■way  to  disorder  and  open  the  way  to  great  confusion." 

For  nearly  eight  years  Gilliland  labored  in  the 
Southern  field.  But  his  anti -slavery  views  at  last  ulti- 
mated  in  differences  that  led  to  the  dissolution  of  the 
pastoral  relation.  At  about  the  same  time  with  his  co- 
'presbyter  Wilson,  he  turned  to  a  Northern  field.  On 
the  8d  of  April,  1805,  he  was  dismissed  to  Washington 
Presbytery,  and  soon  after  was  settled  at  Red  Oak, 
Brown  county,  Ohio,  where  for  nearly  forty  years  he 
continued  his  labors.  Besides  these,  the  Presbytery  in 
1814  had  upon  its  list  of  newl^'-arrived  ministers  the 
names  of  William  Williamson,  pastor  of  West  Union, 
Manchester,  and  Cabin  Creek;  Nicholas  Pittenger  at 
Nazareth,  Rocky  Spring,  and  New  Market;  Robert  B. 
Dobbins  at  Smyrna  and  Williamsburg;  James  H. 
Dickey  at  Buckskin,  Concord,  and  Pisgah;  as  well  as 


OHIO,  isoo-1815.  151 

several  others,  unsettled  ministers  or  stated  supplies. 
Its  membership  was  thirteen,  and  its  congrej^ations 
had  increased  to  twenty-eight. 

Miami  Presbytery  was  erected  in  1810  (from  Wash- 
ington) by  the  Kentucky  Synod.  In  1814  it  embraced 
six  ministers  and  twenty  congregations.  James  Welch 
was  settled  at  Dayton;  Matthew  G.  Wallace  had 
charge  of  the  churches  at  Hamilton,  Seven-Mile,  and 
Dick's  Creek  ;  Daniel  Heyden  was  pastor  at  Hopewell 
and  Duck  Creek,  John  Thompson  at  Springfield  and 
Unity,  Joshua  L.  Wilson  at  Cincinnati ;  and  William 
Robinson  was  without  charge.  There  were  vacant 
churches  organized  at  Bath,  Lebanon,  Yellow  Spring, 
Honey  Creek,  Mackacheck,  Washington,  Troy,  New 
Lexington,  New  Jersey,  Brookville,  and  White- Water. 

Most  of  the  laborers  had  but  recently  arrived  upon 
the  field.  Wilson,  better  known  subsequently  as  the 
prosecutor  of  Dr.  L.  Beecher,  Avas  the  most  distin- 
guished of  the  little  band.  In  1781,  he  removed  with 
his  father's  family  from  Virginia  to  Kentucky.  Here, 
at  Harrod's  Station,  he  heard  from  "  Father"  Eioe  the 
first  sermon  preached  beyond  the  mountains.  lu  1802 
he  was  licensed  to  j^reach  at  Spring  Hill,  Tenn.,  and  in 
1804  was  ordained  pastor  of  the  churches  of  Bardstown 
and  Big  Spring.  In  1808  he  removed  to  Cincinnati, 
where  he  remained  for  thirtj'-eight  years  j^astor  of  the 
First  Presbytei-ian  Church. 

Thus  the  Synod  of  Ohio,  consisting  of  the  three 
Presbyteries  of  Lancaster,  Washington,  and  Miami, 
was  constituted  in  1814  on  the  petition  of  the  Presby- 
tery of  Lancaster.  It  covered  Central  and  Southern 
Ohio,  and  was  composed  of  twenty-nine  ministers  and 
eighty-one  congi'cgations.  In  1815,  on  a  petition  from 
the  Synod  of  Ohio,  the  Ohio  River  was  by  the  As- 
sembly made  the  dividing  line  between  the  S^mods 
of  Kentucky  and   Ohio, — the   congregation  of  Cabin 


152  HISTORY    OF    TRESBYTERIANISM. 

Creek  alone  being  excepted  from  the  ai^plication  of  the 
act. 

The  cause  of  education  within  the  bounds  of  Ohio 
received  the  early  attention  of  the  settlers.  The 
General  Government,  however,  had  already  made  wise 
provision  for  the  promotion  of  its  interests.  In  the 
ordinance  of  1785  for  the  sale  of  Western  lands,  No. 
16  of  every  townshij)  was  i-eserved  "  for  the  main- 
tenance of  public  schools  within  the  said  township." 
The  ordinance  of  1787  provided  that, "  religion,  morality, 
and  knowledge  being  necessarj^  to  good  government 
and  the  happiness  of  mankind,  schools  and  the  means 
of  education  shall  be  forever  encouraged." 

The  inhabitants  of  this  vState  proved  themselves 
capable  of  appreciating  this  excellent  pi-ovision.  The 
Constitution,  framed  in  1802,  approved  the  wisdom  and 
adopted  the  very  language  of  the  ordinance.  The 
value  of  land  at  the  time  Avas  indeed  a  mere  trifle;  and 
it  seems  like  romance  to  read  that  the  entire  plain  on 
which  the  city  of  Cincinnati  is  built  was  sold  only 
seventy  years  ago  for  less  than  fifty  silver  dollars.  But 
with  the  progi-ess  of  settlement  the  lands  rose  in  value ; 
and  the  wisdom  of  the  fathers  of  the  Constitution  is 
fully  reflected  in  those  measures  of  the  General  Govern- 
ment which  at  the  same  time  consecrated  the  North- 
west Territory  to  freedom  and  made  jjrovision  that  it 
should  be  occupied  by  an  intelligent  and  enlightened 
population. 

The  settlers  themselves  displayed,  not  only  on  the 
Reserve  but  in  the  southern  portions  of  the  State,  a 
commendable  disposition  to  establish  schools  and  col- 
leges. We  may  smile  at  the  pedagogic  features  of  the 
nomenclature  of  Marietta,  Avith  its  square  fronting  on 
its  block-houses  called  Campus  Martins,  and  other 
squares  known  as  Cecilia  and  Capitolinum,  while  the 
great  road  through  the  covert  way  was  known  as  Via 


OHIO,    lSOO-1815,  153 

Sacra -f^  but  even  these  indicate  that  among  its  inhabit- 
ants were  men  who  possessed  a  taste  for  classic  loi'e. 
One  of  the  first  acts  of  the  Territorial  Legislature  was 
to  take  measures  for  the  establishment  of  the  Ohio  Uni- 
versity. The  provision  for  this  was  found  in  the  two 
townships  given  by  Congress  in  the  Ohio  Company's 
purchase  for  this  express  object.  The  place  of  its  loca- 
tion, selected  by  General  Rufus  Putnam,  was  called 
Athens, — as  if  to  revive  the  memories  and  associations 
of  ancient  learning.  It  was  not,  however,  till  1810 
that  effectual  measures  were  taken  to  furnish  the 
means  of  public  instruction  b}'  the  organization  of  an 
academy.  It  was  not  till  1815  that  the  institution  ex- 
ercised the  full  prerogatives  of  a  college.  In  that  year 
the  first  literary  degree  conferred  northwest  of  the 
Ohio  was  received  by  Hon.  Thomas  Ewing,  subse- 
quently a  Senator  of  the  United  States  from  Ohio. 

In  the  Miami  region  a  similar  provision  was  made 
for  the  encouragement  of  learning.  In  the  Symmes 
Contract  for  the  purchase  of  one  million  acres  of  land, 
an  entire  township  was  appropriated  for  the  support 
of  a  literary  institution.  It  is  still  doubtful  whether 
the  suggestion  which  led  to  the  introduction  of  this 
appropriation  proceeded  from  Symmes  himself  or  from 
members  of  Congress. 

The  "  College  ToAvnship"  was  first  located  at  or  near 
the  mouth  of  Little  Miami  River,  a  few  miles  above 
Cincinnati.  But  for  some  reason  it  was  found  advisable 
to  change  it,  and  Congress,  in  1803,  authorized  the 
State  to  locate  in  lieu  of  it  a  township  west  of  the 
Great  Miami  River.  Accordingly,  three  commissioners 
— one  of  whom  was  Jeremiah  Morrow,  long  a  ruling 
elder  in  the  Associate  Reformed  Church,  subsequently 
Governor  of  Ohio  and  member  of  Congress — proceeded 

*  North  American  Review,  July,  1838,  p.  15. 


154  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

to  locate  and  enter,  for  the  pui*pose  specified,  the  town, 
ship  now  known  as  Oxford,  in  Butler  county.  The  first 
meeting  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  was  held  in  1809; 
but  it  was  several  years  before  the  institution  com- 
menced operations.' 

But  even  as  late  as  1815  the  means  and  energies  of 
the  people  of  the  State  were  so  greatly  absorbed  in 
their  struggle  witli  the  difficulties  of  new  settlements, 
and  provision  for  eojiifortable  homes,  as  to  preclude 
any  large  outlay  for  more  than  the  means  of  a  common- 
school  education.  lu  subsequent  years,  we  shall  per- 
ceive that  as  their  means  increased  they  proved  them- 
selves not  unworthy  representatives  of  the  regions 
from  which  they  had  gone  forth. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

KENTUCKY,    1800-1815. 


Before  the  close  of  the  last  century,  Transylvania 
Presbytery  had  become  so  extended  as  to  call  for  a 
division.  With  the  consent  of  the  Synod  of  Virginia, 
it  was  broken  up  (March  27,  1799)^  into  three  Presby- 
teries,— Transylvania,  West  Lexington,  and  Washing- 
ton. The  first  of  these,  bounded  northeast  by  the  Ken- 
tucky Eivcr,  north  and  northwest  by  the  Ohio  Eiver, 

1  For  a  sketch  of  the  early  history  of  Miami  University,  down  to 
1839,  see  American  Quarterly  Register  for  August,  1839. 

'  The  Minutes  of  1802  report  that  in  1798  there  were  two  Pres- 
byteries in  Kentuclvy, — Transylvania  aiul  West  Lexington, — and  a 
list  of  the  members  of  each  is  given.  I  have  followed,  however,  the 
statements  of  Dr.  R.  Davidson  in  his  "  History  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  Kentucky." 


KENTUCKY,    1S00-1S15.  155 

and  compi'ehending  on  the  south  the  settlements  on 
the  Cumberland  and  its  tributaries,  comprised  ten 
ministers: — David  Rice,  whose  pastorate  of  the  congre- 
gations of  Concord  at  Danville,  Cane  Run,  and  Dick's 
River  (ITS-t-OT)  had  closed,  and  Avho  had  removed  to 
Green  county ;  Thomas  B.  Craighead,  subsequently 
(1805-08)  pastor  of  vShiloh  congregation,  though  he 
had  been  long  in  the  field;  Terah  Templin,  a  faithful 
evangelist,  supplj'ing  destitute  congregations  (Road's 
Run  near  Springfield,  and  Hardin's  Creek,  now  Leba- 
non) in  Washington  county;  James  McGready,  pastor 
of  the  congregations  of  Gaspar  River,  Red  River,  and 
Muddy  River  (1796-1814);  Archibald  Cameron  at 
Simpson's  Creek,  Bullskin,  and  Achor  congregations 
(1796-1803),  and  subsequently  in  charge  of  Shclby- 
ville  and  Mulberiy  Churches  (1804-36);  Samuel  Finley 
at  Stanford  (1797-1807);  Matthew  Houston,  successor  of 
Carey  H.  Allen  as  pastor  of  Paint  Lick  and  Silver  Creek 
Churches  (1797-1802);  William  McGee,  pastor  of  Beech 
Church;  and  John  Howe,  settled  (1798)  over  Beaver 
Creek  and  Little  Barren. 

West  Lexington  Presbytery,  bounded  south  and 
southwest  by  Kentucky  River,  north  and  northwest 
by  the  Ohio,  and  north  and  northeast  by  the  Main 
Licking,  comprised  nine  ministers: — James  Crawford, 
till  his  death  pastor  of  Walnut  Hill  Church  (1785- 
1803),  gathered  by  his  own  labors;  Samuel  Shannon  at 
Bethel  and  Sinking  Spring  (1789-93),  and  subsequently 
(1794-1806)  at  Woodford ;  Isaac  Tull  at  Green  Creek 
and  Pleasant  Point  (1796-98);  Robert  Marshall  at 
Bethel  (1793-1833)  and  Blue  Spring  (1793-1803?); 
James  Blythe  at  Clear  Creek  and  Pisgah  (1793-95?), 
of  the  last  of  which  he  was  stated  supply  for  over  forty 
years ;  Joseph  P.  Howe  at  Mt.  Sterling  and  Springfield 
(1795-1830);  James  Welch  at  Lexington  and  George- 
town (1796-1804),  and  subsequently  at  Daj'ton,  Ohio; 


156  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

Samuel  Ranncls  at  Paris  and  Stonermouth  (1796-1817); 
and  "William  Robinson  at  Mt.  Pleasant  and  Indian 
Creek  (1796-1802). 

Washington  Presbytery,  extending  across  the  Ohio 
and  comprising  the  remaining  portion  of  Kentucky 
northeast  of  the  Main  Licking,  consisted  of  seven  minis- 
ters,— Peter  Wilson,  James  Kemper,  John  P.  Campbell, 
John  E.  Finley,  William  Speer,  John  Dunlavy,  and 
Richard  McNemar. 

In  1802,  the  three  Presbj^teries  were  constituted  the 
Synod  of  Kentucky,  and  their  aggregate  membership 
had  risen  from  twenty-six  to  thirty-seven.  In  1810, 
the  Presbytery  of  Muhlenberg  was  erected  from  that 
of  Transylvania;  and  in  1814,  the  three  Presbyteries, 
Transylvania,  West  Lexington,  and  Muhlenberg,  cover- 
ing most  of  the  State,  reported  an  aggregate  of  thirty 
ministers  and  sixty-five  congregations.  At  this  time 
several  new  laborers,  worthy  of  special  mention,  had 
entered  the  field.  Among  these  were  Thomas  Cleland, 
of  Union  (1804-16),  New  Providence,  and  Cane  Run 
(1813-52)  congregations,  Samuel  K.  Nelson  (1809-27), 
of  Danville,  S.  B.  Robertson  (1801-13),  of  Cane  Run 
and  New  Providence,  Nathan  H.  Hall,  R.  M.  Cunning- 
ham, and  others  to  whom  reference  will  hereafter  be 
made. 

Among  the  ministers  to  whom,  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  century,  the  charge  of  the  churches  in 
Kentucky  was  committed,  there  were  a  few  of  devoted 
piety  and  a  high  order  of  talent.  Rice  and  Marshall 
have  already  been  mentioned.  Crawford  had  studied 
at  Princeton,  and  was  a  man  of  industry,  zeal,  and  use- 
fulness. Campbell  was  a  genius,  and  at  the  same  time 
a  close  student  and  a  well-read  theologian.  He  was  a 
graceful  speaker,  an  elegant  writer,  and  a  powerful 
controversialist.  Dr.  Alexander,  who  knew  him  well 
while  he  was  studying  with  Graham  and  Hoge  in  Vir- 


KENTUCKY,    1800-1815.  157 

ginia,  pronounced  his  talents  fit  for  any  station.  Lyle 
was  moderately  gifted,  but  studious,  cautious,  and  dis- 
creet. Rannels  Avas  pious  and  indefatigable,  but  un- 
equal in  his  efforts,  and  by  no  means  eminent.  Stuart 
was  unassuming,  prudent,  and  considerate,  but  fearless 
in  the  discharge  of  duty.  Cameron  was  a  countryman 
of  John  Knox,  whom  in  many  respects  be  resembled. 
Robertson  was  much  admired  as  a  preacher,  and  was 
warna  and  ai'dent  in  his  devotions.*  Blythe  was  at 
onee  scholarl}^  and  practical,  conservative  and  decided, 
commanding  in  person  and  magisterial  in  manner, — a 
man  of  little  pliancy,  but  great  decision.  Many  of  the 
others,  however,  were  either  weak  in  intellect  or  in- 
efiicient  as  pastors.  Howe  (J.  P.),  though  he  could 
sing  and  pray  well,  was  a  tedious  preacher.  Houston, 
Dunlavy,  and  McNemar  became  New-Lights  or  Stone- 
ites,  and  finally  Shakers.  Bowman  (1810)  was  sus- 
pended for  refusing  to  appear  and  answer  charges 
against  him.  Mahon  was  deposed  for  drunkenness. 
TuU  was  a  good  but  weak  man,  and  an  indiffei*ent 
preacher.  Taking  the  wiiole  body  together,^  "  a  dull 
formality  seems  to  have  been  their  general  character- 
istic." With  two  or  three  shining  exceptions,  the 
majority  were  of  bai'ely  respectable  abilities,  a  few 
hardly  above  mediocrity,  and  not  a  few,  though  sound 
in  principle,  "  deficient  in  the  spirit  of  the  gospel."  At 
one  time  or  other,  nearly  half  the  preachers  had  been 
under  ecclesiastical  censure.  Several  were  cut  off  for 
heresy  or  schism,  two  were  deposed  for  intemperance, 
and  several  were  rebuked  for  wrangling  or  improprie- 
ties. 

With  such  facts  as  these  established  bej'ond  question, 
we  are  not  surprised  at  the  statements  of  the  historian 

>  Life  of  Cleland. 

•Davidson,  129.     See  Cleland's  Life,  and  Crisman's  "Origin  of 
the  Cumberland  Church  " 
Vol.  IL— U 


158  HISTORY    OF    niESBYTKRIAMSM. 

of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterians.  "The  ministry,"  ho 
says,  "  aimed  at  little  else  than  to  enlighten  the  under- 
standing." Craighead  for  fifteen  years  was  never 
heard  to  speak  "  in  favor  of  the  new  birth,  evangelieal 
repentance,  or  saving  faith  ;"  and  his  course  Avas  scarcely 
exceptional.  The  ministers  spoke  of  the  elect,  the  jne- 
destinated,  the  preordained,  but  little  of  individual  ac- 
countability or  spiritual  regeneration.  A  stiff  techni- 
cal theology  or  a  dry  speculative  orthodoxy  left  the 
heart  and  conscience  unmoved.  Members  were  received 
to  the  churches  without  professing  a  change  of  heart 
or  being  aware  of  its  necessity. 

Yet  it  was  in  these  circumstances  that  the  great 
Kentucky  Kevival  of  1800 — one  of  the  memorable 
events  in  the  history  of  the  Church  in  this  country — 
commenced.  It  was  characterized,  as  it  progressed, 
by  great  extravagances  and  indiscretions.  Some  of 
its  results,  indirectly  at  least,  Avere  deplorable.  Yet  it 
exerted  a  powerful  and  permanent  influence,  and 
wrought  a  mai'ked  change  in  the  aspect  and  condition 
of  society.^  The  most  incredulous  repeatedly  became 
its  subjects. 

In  January,  1799,  the  Rev.  James  McGready  took 
charge  of  three  congregations — Red  River,  Caspar 
River,  and  Muddy  River — in  Logan  county,  Ky.  Among 
the  neighboring  ministers  in  sympathy  with  him  were 
John  Rankin,  William  McGee,  and  William  Hodge, — the 
latter  one  of  his  own  converts,  from  North  Carolina. 
His  field  was  a  most  unpromising  one.  Spiritual  life 
seemed  almost  everywhere  extinct.  But  a  few  mem- 
bers were  found  by  the  pastor  ready  to  unite  Avith  him 
one  day  in  each  month,  and  an  hour  in  each  Aveek,  in 
prayer  for  the  conversion  of  sinners  and  the  revival  of 

1  For  Dr.  Baxter's  favorable  judgment  of  the  revival  as  a  genuine 
■work  of  grace,  see  New  York  Miss.  Mag.  for  1802-03. 


KENTUCKY,    1800-1815.  159 

God's  work.  In  the  course  of  three  or  four  months 
there  were  signs  of  change.  A  woman  long  connected 
with  the  church  (Gaspar  River)  renounced  her  hope  as 
false  and  delusive.  Struck  under  deep  conviction,  she 
at  length  found  peace.  Immediately  she  visited  her 
friends,  warning  them  from  house  to  house,  in  a  most 
solemn  manner,  to  attend  to  the  interests  of  their  souls. 
The  congregation  soon  became  interested,  and  some 
ten  persons  professed  conversion.^ 

In  July,  1798,  the  work,  which  had  declined  toward 
the  close  of  the  preceding  year,  recommenced.  There 
was  scarce  a  family  in  which  there  were  not  anxious 
souls.  Within  a  few  days,  nearly  all  worldly  business 
was  laid  aside.  The  work  soon  extended  to  McGready's 
other  congregations.  "  The  people  seemed  to  hear  for 
eternity.  In  every  house,  and  in  almost  every  com- 
pany, the  whole  conversation  of  people  was  about  the 
state  of  their  souls."  "  The  awakening  work  went  on 
with  power  under  every  sermon."  Unfortunately,  at 
this  juncture,  Eev.  James  Balch  visited  the  region.  He 
spoke  freely,  if  not  bitterly,  against  the  character  of 
the  work.  The  churches  were  "  involved  in  confusion 
and  disputation,"  and  the  revival  ceased. 

In  July,  1799,  again  upon  a  sacramental  occasion,  it 
commenced  anew.  Several  ministers  (probably  Rankin 
and  the  McGees)  were  present,  and  on  Monday  the 
large  congregation  was  powerfully  affected.  "  Many 
of  the  most  bold,  daring  sinners  in  the  county  covered 
their  heads  and  wept  bitterly."  Numbers  lingered 
after  the  services  were  closed.  Every  countenance  in- 
dicated seriousness,  and  not  a  few  were  bathed  in  tears. 
They  Avere  called  back,  a  meeting  of  prayer  was  held, 
and  the  impressions  were  deepened.  Christians  were 
awakened  to  new  life.     "  The  dreadful  state  of  sinners 

1  McGready's  Letter  in  New  York  Miss.  Mag.,  1800. 


160  HISTORY    OF   PRESBYTERIANISM. 

out  of  Christ"  seemed  to  impose  upon  them  "  a  sen- 
sible, heartfelt  burden." 

In  August,  a  similar  scene  occurred  among  the  Gas- 
par  River  congregation, — now  under  the  charge  of 
Eankin.  "  The  almighty  power  of  God  Avas  displayed 
in  the  most  striking  manner."  The  next  day  the 
solemnity  visibly  increased.  For  the  first  time  the 
features  afterward  regarded  as  peculiar  to  this  work 
made  their  appearance.  "Many  persons  were  so  struck 
with  deep,  heart-piercing  convictions  that  their  bodily 
strength  was  quite  overcome,  so  that  they  fell  to  the 
ground,  and  could  not  refrain  from  bitter  groans  and 
outcries  for  mercy."  These  effects  were  limited  to  no 
class.  "  The  work  was  general,  with  old  and  young, 
black  and  white."  Large  numbers  Avere  awakened, 
and  quite  a  number  of  hopeful  conversions  followed. 

On  the  following  Sabbath,  a  similar  scene  occurred 
at  Clay  Lick, — another  of  Mr.  McGready's  congrega- 
tions. On  the  fifth  Sabbath  of  Sej^tember,  the  sacra- 
ment was  administered  at  Muddy  River,  and  the  occa- 
sion was  more  remarkable  than  any  that  had  preceded. 
On  the  last  Sabbath  of  October,  the  sacramental  season 
was  observed  at  the  Ridge,  a  vacant  congregation  in 
the  Cumberland  settlements  in  Tennessee.  A  very 
general  revival  followed,  and  continued  with  great 
power  for  several  months. 

In  the  summer  of  1800,  still  more  extraordinary 
scenes  were  witnessed.  The  work  began  at  Red  River 
on  the  third  Sabbath  of  June.  The  following  da}^  "  was 
indeed  the  great  day  of  the  feast."  At  the  close  of  the 
sermon,  by  Rev.  Mr.  Hodge,  "  a  dreadful  striking 
solemnity  overspread  the  assembly.  The  vast  multi- 
tude were  all  in  tears.  Awakened  sinners  were  struck 
with  such  keen,  piercing  convictions  that  many  of  them 
fell  to  the  ground,  and  roared  out,  in  extreme  anguish, 
'  "What  shall  I  do  to  be  saved  ?'  "     Children  "  of  nine, 


KENTUCKY,    1800-1815.  161 

ten,  and  twelve  years  of  age"  might  be  seen  "  lying 
prostrate  on  the  ground,  weeping,  praying,  and  crying 
for  mercy.  "^ 

On  the  fourth  Sabbath  of  July,  the  congregation  at 
Gaspar  Kiver  were  similarly  visited.  "  A  surprising 
multitude  of  people"  had  collected,  many  from  a  dis- 
tance of  thirty,  and  some  from  a  distance  of  sixty  or 
even  a  hundred,  miles.  After  the  second  day  of  the 
meeting,  the  impression  became  more  deep  and  per- 
vading. "  The  greater  part  of  the  ministers  and  several 
hundreds  of  the  people  remained  at  the  meeting-house 
all  night.  The  houi'S  were  spent  in  jDrayer  and  praise 
and  conversation  Avith  inquiring  souls."  At  the  close 
of  the  next  day's  sermon,  "  the  power  of  God  seemed 
to  shake  the  whole  assembly."  "  The  cries  of  the  dis- 
tressed," at  times,  almost  drowned  the  voice  of  the 
speaker.  After  the  congregation  was  dismissed,  none 
seemed  Avilling  to  depart.  Careless  professors  were  led 
to  more  searching  self-examination,  and  to  abandon- 
ment of  their  former  hopes.  "Awakening  and  con- 
verting work"  went  forward  throughout  the  vast  mul- 
titude. Many  of  the  children  were  deej^ly  affected, 
and  gave  evidence  of  genuine  conversion.  "  The  good 
language,  the  good  sense,  the  clear  ideas,  and  the 
rational  scriptural  light  in  which  they  spoke,"  says  Mr. 
McGready,  "  amazed  me.  I  felt  mortified  and  mean 
before  them.  They  spoke  U]50n  these  subjects  beyond 
what  I  could  have  done." 

The  next  day  (Monday)  there  was  "  a  vast  concourse 
of  people."  It  was  "  another  day  of  the  Son  of  man." 
Two  "powerful  sermons"  were  preached  by  McGee  and 
Hodge,  and  '•  a  universal  solemnity"  was  manifested. 
The  congregation  was  dismissed,  but  none  seemed  will- 
ing to  leave  the  place.     Persons  of  all  ages  and  colors 


1  McGready's  Letters  in  the  New  York  Miss.  Mag. 
14* 


162  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANlSi.!. 

were  found  to  be  under  conviction,  some  of  them  "cry- 
ing out  for  mercy  in  tlie  most  extreme  distress  "  The 
assemblage  remained  together  until  Tuesday  morning 
after  sunrise,  when  "  they  broke  up  after  they  were  dis^ 
missed  by  prayer." 

This  was  the  origin  of  camp-meetings  ;  and  it  initiated 
a  new  system  of  evangelical  effort.  There  was  not  a 
little  in  the  circumstances  of  it  to  attract  and  impress. 
A  regular  encampment  was  formed  Some  occupied 
tents,  while  others  slept  in  covered  wagons.  The  ar- 
rangement of  these  was  such  as  to  form  a  hollow  square, 
the  enclosure  being  fitted  up  for  public  worship.  Paral- 
lel rows  of  roughlj^-hewn  logs  served  as  seats  for  the 
audience,  while  in  the  centre  was  the  stand,  a  platform 
rudely  constructed  of  logs,  which  served  the  purpose 
of  a  pulpit.^ 

The  novelty  of  the  scene,  as  well  as  the  report  of  what 
had  already  occurred  on  similar  occasions,  brought  large 
multitudes  together  Several  preachers  from  the  neiglv 
boring  region  were  present  to  assist  each  other  in  the 
exercises.  The  scene  itself,  as  one  and  another  were 
struck  under  conviction  and  cried  out  in  agony  or  fell 
from  exhaustion,  was  well  calculated  to  affect  all  but 
those  of  the  strongest  nerves. 

The  preachers  themselves  were  roused,  by  the  de- 
mand which  seemed  to  be  made  upon  them,  to  extraor- 
dinary effort.  Nor  were  they  lacking  in  just  those  gifts 
which  enabled  them  to  make  the  most  of  the  occasion. 
McGready  had  left,  but  two  or  three  years  before,  a  con- 
gregation in  Orange  county,  N.C.,  in  consequence  of  the 
odium  which  his  unsparing  censui'es  had  brought  upon 
him  from  those  who  could  not  endure  his  rebukes.  He 
was  indeed  a  Son  of  Thunder,  a  Boanerges  in  manner 
and  matter.     "  The  curses  of  the  law  lost  none  of  their 

1  Davidson's  Kentucky,  134. 


KENTUCKY,  ISOO-IGIS.  163 

severity  in  falling  from  his  lips;  and,  like  Mirabcau,  the 
fierceness  of  his  invectives  derived  additional  terror 
from  the  hideousness  of  his  visage  and  the  thunder  of 
his  tones. "^  He  was  now  in  the  early  vigor  of  man- 
hood, and  gave  full  scope  to  the  intense  energy  of  his 
nature. 

His  associates — Eankin,  Hodge,  and  the  two  McGees 
— were  for  the  most  part  possessed  of  kindred  sjnn- 
pathies.  Eankin  was  a  man  of  little  stability,  and 
repeatedly  carried  away  by  his  own  enthusiasm.  He 
was  one  of  the  Revivalists  who  fell  off  first  to  the  New 
Lights  and  afterward  to  the  Shakers.  From  the  out- 
Bet,  he  was  unsettled  in  his  doctrinal  views;  but  his 
very  susceptibilities  gave  him  for  a  time  a  peculiar  and 
powerful  influence.  William  McGee  had  been  converted 
in  North  Carolina  under  McGready's  preaching,  and 
Boon  followed  him  to  Kentucky.  He  was  exceedingly 
animated  and  zealous  in  the  pulpit,  and,  like  McGready, 
wielded  the  curses  of  Sinai  with  great  power.  "  He 
would  sometimes  exhort  after  sermon,  standing  on  the 
floor,  or  sitting  or  lying  in  the  dust,  his  eyes  streaming, 
and  his  heart  so  full  that  he  could  only  ejaculate, '  Jesus ! 
Jesus!'"  His  first  pastorate  was  the  charge  of  the 
Shiloh  congregation.  His  diff'erence  with  his  elders 
led  to  his  removal,  and  he  was  succeeded  by  Mr. 
Hodge. 

"William  Hodge,  like  McGee,  was  from  North  Caro- 
lina. He  had  entered  the  ministry  at  a  somewhat 
advanced  age,  and  had  been  preaching  for  ten  years 
when  he  succeeded  McGee  in  the  pastorate  of  the  Shiloh 
church.  Although  less  stern  than  McGread}',  and  rather 
a  Son  of  Consolation,  he  was  most  efficient  and  zealous 
in  promoting  the  revival.  He  was  a  powerful  speaker, 
and  under  his  preaching  some  of  the  most  surprising 


1  Davidson's  Kentucky. 


364  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

scenes  occurred.  In  his  own  congregation  a  divi. 
sion  soon  sprang  up,  and  a  new  organization  was  the 
result. 

The  other  McGee  was  a  Methodist  preacher.  With 
all  the  warm  feeling  and  quick  susceptibility  of  his 
brother,  he  had  the  Methodist  peculiarities.  Some  of 
the  most  objectionable  features  of  the  work  are  said  to 
have  been  countenanced  and  promoted  by  him. 

Encouraged  by  their  past  success  in  the  new  measures 
which  they  had  adopted,  these  men  prosecuted  them 
with  increased  energy.  The  plan  of  camp-meetings 
spread  like  wildfire.  They  were  held,  one  after  an- 
other, in  rapid  succession.  Crowds  assembled  from 
every  direction.  "The  laborer  quitted  his  task;  ago 
snatched  his  crutch;  youth  forgot  his  pastime;  the 
plough  was  left  in  the  furrow;  business  of  all  kinds 
was  suspended."  Young  and  old,  the  farmer  and  the 
hunter,  white  and  black,  flocked  to  the  centre  of  attrac- 
tion. The  paths  leading  through  the  forest  were  alive 
with  people,  and  the  number  reported  in  attendance 
upon  these  occasions  is  almost  incredible. 

The  camp-meeting  at  Gaspar  River  was  attended  by 
a  number  of  young  people  from  Shiloh  congregation, 
fifty  miles  distant.  They  came  with  "  great  curiosity 
to  see  the  work,"  yet  strongly  prejudiced  against  it. 
Some  of  them  on  their  return  felt  it  their  duty  to  warn 
their  young  associates.  Quite  a  number  were  brought 
under  conviction ;  and  by  the  influence  thus  exerted 
religious  meetings  were  commenced,  even  while  with- 
out a  minister,  and  a  powerful  revival  was  the  result. 
It  led  to  the  settlement  of  William  Hodge. 

At  this  time  a  compan}-  of  eighteen  or  twent}'  per- 
sons, in  ''a  very  wicked,  thouglitless  settlement,"  hajj- 
pened  to  meet  together  at  a  certain  house.  None  had 
any  particular  errand,  and  they  began  to  converse  to- 
gether on  the  concerns  of  their  souls.     At  length  they 


KENTUCKY,   1800-1815.  165' 

concluded  to  meet  together  in  solemn  prayer.  Here 
again  a  revival  of  religion  commenced. 

Thus  the  work  was  continually  extending.  The 
camp-meetings  were  still  kept  up.  A  sacramental 
season  was  observed  at  Muddy  Eiver  on  the  fifth  Sab- 
bath of  August.  Sunday  night,  says  McGrcady,  "  was 
one  of  the  most  solemn  nights  I  ever  saw  in  the  world." 
A  large  majority  of  the  congregation  remained  Avith 
the  ministers  at  the  meeting-house  all  night.  On  Mon- 
day night  the  scene  was  rejjeated.  None  seemed  to 
feel  the  want  of  food  or  sleep. 

The  second  Sabbath  of  September  was  the  sacra- 
ment-season at  Ridge,  Cumberland  county;  the  third, 
at  Shiloh.  In  October  the  scene  was  transferred  to 
Mr.  Craighead's  congregations,  in  the  same  neighboi'- 
hood,  then  successively  to  Clay  Lick,  Montgomerj^'s 
Meeting-House,  and  Hopewell.  At  these  various  places 
large  numbers  of  conversions  are  reported  to  have 
occurred.  The  work  extended  to  man}^  vacant  con- 
gregations. McGready  visited  meanwhile  the  settle- 
ment of  Eed-Banks,  one  hundred  miles  distant  on  the 
Ohio.  It  was,  according  to  his  report,  "a  Satan's  seat, 
a  second  hell."  He  went  there  tAvice,  Mr.  Eankin 
once,  Mr.  Hodge  once.  A  poAverful  revival  commenced. 
Several  professed  deists  were  converted,  and  "  an  orderly 
good  congregation"  might  have  been  gathered  there,  if 
there  had  been  "  a  faithful  minister  to  take  charge  of 
them." 

Many  striking  incidents  and  surprising  conversions 
occurred  in  connection  with  these  scenes.  A  strange 
gentleman  from  Georgia,  Avho  had  come  into  the  region 
to  conduct  the  sale  of  lands  which  he  possessed  in  Cum- 
berland, was  riding  near  the  spot  Avhere  one  of  the 
meetings  were  held.  Attracted  by  the  cries  of  the  dis- 
tressed, he  turned  aside  from  curiosity,  but  was  con- 
verted, and  at  once  changed  his  purpose,  resolving  to 


166  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

sell  his  Georgia  rather  than  his  Kentucky  lands,  and 
thus  reside  on  the  latter.  Another  stranger,  from  a 
distance,  was  about  to  leave.  His  foot  was  in  the 
stirrup;  but  he  was  asked,  "How  can  you  go  without 
Christ?"  He  "sank  to  the  ground  under  the  most 
pungent  conviction,"  and  only  left  the  place  when  he 
had  found  peace  in  believing.  Bitter  opponents  were 
strangely  subdued.  Scoffers  and  revilers  were  brought 
to  cry  out  in  agony  for  mercy. 

During  tbe  following  year  (1801),  the  revival  was 
still  more  powerful  and  extensive.  Early  in  May  "the 
flame  began  to  spread."  The  scene  at  "  Mr.  Campbell's 
meeting-house"  was  extraordinary  and  affecting.  On 
the  third  iSabbath  of  May,  at  Cabin  Creek,  "  about  sixty 
persons  were  struck  down;"  on  the  next  Sabbath,  at 
Fleming  Creek,  '-about  one  hundred."  During  June 
and  July,  similar  scenes  occurred  at  Concord,  Pleasant 
Point,  Indian  Creek,  and  other  places.  But  the  most 
remarkable  of  all  was  witnessed  in  August,  at  Cane 
Eidge.  This  was  a  beautiful  spot  in  the  vicinity  of  a 
country  church  of  the  same  name,  under  the  pastoral 
care  of  Mr.  Stone,  in  the  county  of  Bourbon,  and  seven 
miles  from  Paris.  It  was  finely  shaded  and  watered, 
and  admirably  adapted  to  the  purpose  of  an  encamp- 
ment. A  great  central  area  was  cleared  and  levelled^ 
two  or  three  hundred  yards  in  length,  over  which  was 
extended  a  spacious  tent  as  a  shelter  from  heat  and 
rain.  The  adjoining  ground  was  laid  off  in  regular 
streets,  along  which  the  tents  were  pitched.  The  con- 
course was  immense.  A  Eevolutionary  officer,  accus- 
tomed to  estimate  encampments,  computed  it  to  amount 
to  not  less  than  twenty  thousand  souls.  The  number 
of  communicants  is  variously  stated  at  from  eight  hun- 
dred to  eleven  hundred. 

All  who  have  left  us  any  account  of  the  scene  agree 
\n  confessing  that  language  is  inadequate  to  describe 


KENTUCKY,    lSOO-1815.  167 

it.*  It  was  sublime,  grand,  "  awful."  The  noise  was 
"like  the  roar  of  Niagara.  The  vast  sea  of  human 
beings  Avas  agitated  as  if  by  a  storm."  The  tide  of 
emotion  seemed  to  roll  over  them  like  tumultuous 
waves.  Sometimes  hundreds  Avere  swept  down  almost 
at  once,  "like  the  trees  of  the  forest  under  the  blast  of 
the  wild  tornado."  Seven  ministers,  some  in  wagons, 
others  standing  on  stumps,  might  have  been  counted, 
all  addressing  the  multitude  at  the  same  time.  Of  the 
people,  some  were  singing,  others  praying,  others  cry- 
ing aloud  for  mercy,  others  still  "  shouting  most  voci- 
ferously;"  while  hardened  men,  who  with  horrid  impre- 
cations rushed  furiously  into  the  praying  circles,  were 
smitten  down  as  if  b}^  an  invisible  hand,  and  lay  powei-- 
less,  or  racked  by  "  fearful  spasms,  till  their  companions 
beholding  them  were  palsied  by  terror."  At  times  the 
scene  was  surpassingly  terrible,  and  the  boldest  heart 
was  unmanned.  The  infidel  forgot  his  philosophy,  and 
trembled  till  he  sank  to  his  knees  or  fell  to  the  earth. 
"At  one  time,"  says  a  spectator,''  "I  saw  at  least  five 
hundred  swept  down  in  a  moment,  as  if  a  battery  of  a 
thousand  guns  had  been  opened  upon  them;  and  then 
immediately  folloAved  shrieks  and  shouts  that  rent  the 
very  heavens.  My  hair  rose  upon  my  head,  my  whole 
frame  trembled,  the  blood  ran  cold  in  my  veins,  and  I 
fled  for  the  woods."  Such  is  the  testimony  of  one  who 
'•  would  not  have  fallen  to  the  ground  for  the  whole 
State  of  Kentucky,"  and  who,  Avhen  his  feelings  had 
become  "intense  and  insupportable,"  sought  to  allay 
them  by  a  dram  of  brandy. 

As  darkness  settled  doAvn  over  the  scene,  it  lost 
nothing  of  its  impressiveness.  The  solemnity  was 
rather  deepened.  Ncav  features  of  sublimity  or  terror 
presented  themselves  to  the  beholder.     The  camp-fires 


1  Autobiography  of  Rev.  J.  B.  Finley,  364.  2  jb.  167. 


168  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

gleamed  with  a  strange  light.  Hundreds  of  candles 
and  lamps  suspended  from  the  overarcLing  trees,  with 
torches  in  every  direction  lighting  up  with  strano-e 
brilliancy  the  motley  groups  beneath  and  the  tremulous 
foliage  above,  gave  to  the  whole  panorama  the  aspect 
of  wild  enchantment;  while  chanted  hymns,  impas- 
sioned exhortations,  and  earnest  prayers,  interrupted 
by  sobs  and  shrieks  and  shouts  and  startling  cries  for 
mercy,  deepened  the  impression  made  upon  the  be- 
holder. The  feeling  became  intense,  the  excitement 
indescribable  and  beyond  control.  No  wonder  that 
multitudes  drawn  together  by  various  motives  should 
fall  under  the  powerful  spell  of  such  an  occasion.  Yet 
to  many  it  was  attractive  for  those  very  features  of  it 
most  open  to  exception.^ 

1  [Such  were  the  excitement  and  distress,  the  shrieks,  praj'ers, 
and  praises,  that  at  times  the  preachers  found  it  impossible  to  gain 
the  attention  of  the  people,  and  were  compelled  to  desist  from  preach- 
ing, sometimes  in  the  midst  of  a  sermon.  This  I  have  from  a  wit- 
ness who  was  present. — F.] 

Dr.  Thomas  Cleland,  of  Kentucky,  who  had  not  yet  entered  the 
ministry,  was  present  himself  at  the  meeting  of  Cane  Ridge.  In 
his  autobiography,  speaking  of  it,  be  says,  "A  great  and  solemn 
one  it  was,  sure  enough.  ...  As  to  myself,  I  had  fancied  that  no 
sooner  than  I  would  reach  the  place  and  enter  the  religious  atmo- 
sphere, I  would  enjoy  quite  a  different  feeling  from  that  which  I  had 
60  long  experienced  and  lamented.  I  expected  to  fall  quite  soon,  or 
experience  some  softening,  pleasing,  inward  ecstasy, — something  I 
could  not  tell  what.  But,  to  my  great  disappointment,  I  felt  un- 
moved, cold,  and  hard  as  a  stone.  I  went  from  tent  to  tent,  wit- 
nessing many  prostrate  as  though  dead  or  dying, — persons  all  around 
singing  and  praying.  Though  fond  of  singing  myself,  I  could  not 
join  with  them.  I  retired  to  a  tent  to  sleep,  but  could  not.  I  thought 
of  home,  and  wished  myself  there.  ...  I  had  'neither  joy  nor 
song.'  Thus  I  continued  until  the  hour  of  preaching  next  day, 
which  was  the  Sabbath.  The  preacher  was  my  old  favorite.  Rev. 
Robert  Marshall.  He  occupied  the  stand,  while  another  occupied 
the  church.     Tlie  congregation  was  immense.     The  text  was  Cant. 


KENTUCKY,    1800-1815.  169" 

The  question  was  now  decided  that  such  meetings 
must  be  held.  Tlie  popular  feeling  in  their  favor 
amounted  almost  to  a  passion.  All  classes  and  all 
denominations  thronged  together  where  one  was  an- 
nounced. Even  the  more  sober  and  discreet  of  the 
Presbyterian  ministers  did  not  feel  warranted  to  offer 
direct  opposition.  From  Logan  and  Cumberland  coun- 
ties the  excitement  extended  far  and  near  throughout 
the  State  and  across  the  Tennessee  line,  and  even  into 
Georgia.  The  question  was  no  longer  whether  the 
meetings  should  be  held,  but  how  they  should  be  con- 
ducted. "Father"  Rice,  Craighead,  Lyle,  Blythe,  and 
others  were  the  advocates  of  order.  They  fearlessly 
discountenanced  the  extravagances  of  the  revival. 
Month  after  month,  and  year  after  year,  these  be- 
came more  marked  and  objectionable.  The  Methodist 
preachers  were  generally  welcome,  and  their  peculiar 
fervor  gave  a  new  impulse  to  the  excitement.  There 
was  a  great  variety  of  exercises,  some  of  them  almost 
too  absurd  for  grave  mention.    And  yet  to  the  subjects 


ii.  10:  'Rise  up,  my  love,  my  fair  one,  and  come  away.'  In  the 
course  of  the  sermon  my  case  was  described  exactly.  The  preacher, 
if  I  may  so  say,  '■struck  the  trail'  of  my  experience  some  distance 
back,  and  came  on  plainer  and  plainer,  and  at  every  step  more  sen- 
sibly and  with  more  effect.  At  length  he  came  right  up  with  me: 
my  religious  state  and  feeling  were  depicted  better  than  I  could  have 
possibly  done  it  myself.  I  thought  it  was  indeed  the  heavenly 
bridegroom  calling  and  inviting.  .  .  .  My  heart  was  melted;  my 
bosom  heaved;  my  eyes  for  the  first  time  were  a  fountain  of  tears. 
I  stood  behind  one  of  the  benches,  leaning  forward  against  its  back. 
I  wept  till  my  handkerchief  was  saturated  with  my  tears.  I  felt  like 
giving  way.  I  felt  an  indescribable  sensation,  as  when  one  strikes  his 
elbow  against  a  hard  substance.  I  do  not  say  that  mine  was  the 
prevailing  exercise,  or  that  it  did  not  arise  from  natural  causes.  So 
it  was.  My  position  was  discovered  by  a  friend  near  me."  It  was 
some  hours  before  he  recovered.  "I  greatly  enjoyed  the  meeting," 
he  says,  "as  long  as  I  remained." 
Vol.  II.— 15 


170  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

of  them,  and  to  most  of  the  crowd  assembled,  they  wore 
any  thing  but  a  ludicrous  aspect.  There  was  ih.Q falling, 
the  jerking,  the  rolling,  the  running,  the  dancing,  and  the 
barking  exercise.  Individuals  were  seized  b}^  these, 
often  in  spite  of  studied  resistance,  and  sometimes 
almost  while  the  jest  or  open,  blasphemy  was  upon 
their  lips.  Dreams  and  visions,  the  hoi}'  laugh  and 
the  holy  kiss,  helped  forward  the  enthusiasm  of  the 
occasion  or  the  grotesqueness  of  the  scene.  The  en- 
tranced must  relate  what  had  been  revealed  to  them 
in  their  state  of  outward  insensibility.  They  had  seen 
the  darkened  sky,  or  light  beyond  the  blazing  of  the 
sun.  Nature,  with  her  various  objects,  had  become  a 
treasury  of  spiritual  types.  A  great  highway  of  splen- 
dor stretching  a  thousand  miles  in  the  distance  was 
seen  traversed  by  messengers  of  glad  tidings.  Broad 
rivers  were  crossed,  high  mountains  climbed,  venomous 
serpents  vanquished.  Gross  and  fleshly  pollutions  were 
cleansed  away  in  purgatorial  fire,  sjnritual  hunger  was 
satisfied  from  the  tree  of  life.  A  golden  bridge  span- 
ning fearful  chasms  was  seen  reaching  to  the  gates  of 
heaven.  There  were  '•  strange,  curious  caverns"  be- 
neath, and  above  a  lofty  mountain,  ''  with  silver-topped 
leaves,"  leading  up  "to  God  and  heaven."  Some  pro- 
fessed to  have  been  more  highly  favored  than  Paul 
in  his  unearthly  vision.  They  brought  back  in  their 
breasts  the  melodies  of  another  sphere;  they  enjoj-ed 
the  fragrance  which  still  enfolded  them  from  their  visit 
to  more  than  ambrosial  scenes. 

As  the  excitement  extended,  such  things  were  by  no 
means  uncommon.*     The  extraordinary  exercises  were 


1  Dr.  Thomas  Cleland,  -while  a  youth  attending  a  school  occasion- 
ally visited  by  the  Methodist  preachers,  was  the  witness  of  scenes 
which  will  afford  some  idea  of  the  character  of  the  excitement 
which  was  sometimes  produced  by  their  efforts.  He  boarded  with 
a  Methodist  preacher  hy  tlie   name  of  Thomas  Kyle,  who  kept  the 


KENTUCKY,    1800-1815.  171 

accounted  necessary,  as  well  as  supernatural  and  divine. 
Even  the  more  discreet  ministers  could  not  explain 
them ;  while  the  most  zealous  interpreted  them  as  the 
results  and  marks  of  the  Spirit's  influence. 

But  such  encouragement  was  not  needed.  The  tide 
of  feeling  which  bore  these  strange  things  along  with 
it  was  becoming  almost  irresistible.  He  who  criticized 
or  even  q^uestioned  them  was  accounted  an  opposer  of 
religion.  But  the  proceedings  had  become  extravagant, 
and  it  was  necessary  that  some  limit  should  be  set  to 
the  excesses  of  this  work.  Only  McGready,  Crawford, 
Eankin,  Stone,  Hodge,  Houston,  Marshall,  and  McGee 
had  allowed  themselves  to  be  swejDt  by  the  tide  of 
popular  feeling  beyond  the  limits  of  propriety.  Most 
of  the  other  Presbyterian  ministers  felt  tliat  the  proper 

school ;  and  on  a  certain  day  in  each  month  ihere  came  along  the 
circuit  rider,  who,  bj  request  of  the  teacher,  heard  the  pupils 
rehearse  a  small,  catechism  at  the  close  of  the  forenoon  sessions. 
"He  then  proceeded  to  prayer  and  exhortation  with  great  vehemence 
and  eifei'vescence,  until  nearly  the  whole  female  part  of  the  school 
became  in  a  perfect  uproar,  crying  for  mercy,  exhorting  careless 
brothers  and  some  others  of  the  male  sex  to  repent  and  give  up 
their  hearts  to  God.  The  scene  lasted  perliaps  for  one  hour,  when 
all  became  still  as  ever.  The  preacher  retired;  our  dinners  were 
eaten;  playtime  was  attended  to  in  usual  style,  so  that  no  one  would 
have  known  that  any  thing  unusual  had  occurred."  Cleland^s  father 
disapproved  the  proceedings,  and  his  request  that  his  son  might  with- 
draw at  such  times  was  reluctantly  granted.  He  spent  the  time  in 
study,  and  on  his  return  was  hailed  with  the  jocular,  sportive  lan- 
guage, "  Here  comes  the  lost  sheep,"  "  Here  comes  the  prodigal," 
&c.  "The  girls,  increasing  in  their  zeal,' held  through  the  sum- 
mer, in  playtime,  religious  meetings  in  the  woods,  sometimes  in  one 
place  and  sometimes  in  another.  You  might  hear  them  at  the  top 
of  their  voices  nearly  a  mile.  One  or  two  led  in  prayer,  until  all 
joined  in  the  outcry.  .  .  .  The  autumn  approaching,  the  novelty 
ceasing,  the  whole  affair  died  away,  leaving  no  trace  of  real  piety, 
and  not  one  to  join  the  church  by  public  pi'ofession." — Life  of 
Cleland,  p.  34. 


172  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

tests  of  a  genuine  revival  should  be  constantly  applied. 
They — the  majority,  at  least — did  not  presume  to  utter 
an  unqualified  condemnation  of  all  that  had  taken 
place.  They  would  not  pronounce  judgment  even  on 
the  sjiasmodic  convulsions^  the  fallings,  and  the  strange 
raptures.  Yet  they  felt  that  whatever  permanent  re- 
sults for  good  were  accomplished  must  be  accomplished 
by  the  truth  alone.  They  knew  that  "a  work  of  God" 
should,  as  far  as  genuine,  be  such  as  to  bear  the  test  of 
his  word. 

The  time  had  now  come  when  that  test  should  be 
applied.  Doctrinal  errors,  it  was  already  evident,  were 
making  head  in  some  quarters,  and  there  could  be  no 
question  of  their  lamentable  result  if  left  unchecked. 
The  extravagances  of  some  of  the  meetings  had  become 
a  stumbling-block  in  the  way  of  religion.  Reaction  of 
some  kind  would  be  sure  to  follow.  Infidelit}*,  for 
a  while  checked  and  abashed,  would  be  encouraged  to 
assume  a  bolder  front.  As  early  as  1801'  Mr.  Lyle  ap- 
prehended the  threatened  danger.  He  warned  the 
people  against  that  enthusiasm  "  which,  like  a  worm, 
destroyed  the  beauty  of  a  revival,  and  would  ere  long 
discredit  it  as  the  work  of  God."  He  reproved  the 
strolling  parties,  and  insisted  on  the  observance  of 
quiet  and  order.  A  few  weeks  later,  "  Father"  Eice, 
at  a  conference  on  a  sacramental  occasion  at  Walnut 
Hill,  proposed  a  plan  for  the  regulation  of  the  meetings. 
By  several  it  was  favored ;  but  the  majority  of  the  min- 
isters present  opposed  it.  Some  of  them  "  vehemently 
dissented."  At  once  the  signs  of  a  division  became 
manifest.  The  more  sober  and  discreet  were  now  stig- 
matized as  Anti-Revival  men.  They  were  denounced 
as  "  hindrances  to  the  work,"  as  "  standing  in  the  way," 
as  deists  at  heart  and  having  no  religion.  "  Father" 
Rice  was  singled  out  as  the  chief  offender:   yet  his 


KENTUCKY,    1800-1815.  173 

views  very  nearly  accorded  with  those  of  Lyle,  Blythe, 
Cameron,  and  Craigliead. 

The  Revival  men,  meanwhile,  as  the  other  j)arty 
styled  themselves,  aifected  a  kind  of  holy  superiority. 
The}"  were  "  forwai'd  and  noisy"  in  their  enthusiasm. 
The  meetings  hecanie  scenes  of  discord  rather  than 
harmony.  The  stand  itself  was  sometimes  changed 
into  the  arena  of  controversy.  It  was  Blythe  against 
Marshall,  or  Stone  versus  Lyle  and  Cameron.  Harsh 
words  were  sometimes  spoken,  and  jDrivate  intercourse 
was  sometimes  marred  by  passion,  if  not  rage. 

In  such  scenes,  it  Avould  have  been  difficult  for  the 
coolest  to  retain  the  exercise  of  a  calm  judgment. 
Every  thing  was  carried  to  extremes.  The  more  cau- 
tious ministers  were  charged  with  *'  coldness  and  dead- 
ness  in  religion."  Yet  among  those  approved  by  their 
opponents  were  some  Avhose  conduct  should  be  severely 
reijrehended.  Some  explained  the  sti'ange  phenomena 
as  "  manifestations  of  the  Spirit."  Some  dropped  the 
Spirit  altogether  out  of  account,  and  would  not  hear 
of  his  operations.  Here  one  might  be  seen  raving  like 
a  Pythoness,  there  another  praying  with  "  clenched 
fists,"  while  3-et  another  shouted  "Glory  to  God!"  with 
-'  wild  and  distracted  e^-es,"  and,  speaking  to  sinners, 
'-'  looked  like  a  fury.''  Women  and  children  exhorted. 
Tbey  pronounced  judgment  on  ministers.  Persons 
were  addressed  or  prayed  for  by  name.  Falling,  or 
other  exercises,  came  to  be  a  necessaiy  stimulus  to  the 
interest  of  the  meetings.  It  was  a  tame  occasion  when 
there  was  no  such  exhibition. 

To  add  to  the  mischief,  evil-minded  persons  seized 
the  opportunity  to  ridicule  religion,  or  mingle  in  the 
scene  for  the  pui'pose  of  entertainment  or  even  to 
gratify  their  lusts.  Hucksters  and  traders  crowded  to 
the  meetings  to  vend  wares,  or  even  liquors.  Not  a  few 
gave  practical  evidence  of  their  new  belief,  that  crept 


174  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

in  with  other  errors,  of  falling  from  grace.  It  was,  in- 
deed,  time  that  a  check  should  be  put  to  the  abuses  of 
the  meetings. 

At  its  second  meeting  (1803)  the  attention  of  Synod 
was  drawn  to  the  erroneous  doctrines  promulgated  by 
Messrs.  McNemar  and  Thompson.  The  Synod  entered 
upon  their  examination  and  trial;  but,  pending  the  dis- 
cussion, these  men,  together  with  Marshall,  Stone,  and 
Dunlavy,  entered  their  protest,  and  declared  their  with- 
drawal from  the  jurisdiction  of  Synod. 

The  five  seceding  members  formed  themselves  into  a 
Presbytery.  The  Synod,  roused  by  this  act  of  seeming 
defiance,  proceeded,  perhaps  too  precipitately,  to  sus- 
pend them  from  the  ministry,  and  directed  that  their 
pulpits  should  be  declared  vacant.  Matters  were  thus 
brought  to  a  crisis.  The  suspended  ministers,  some  of 
them  at  least  Arminian  in  their  views,  were  highly 
popular,  and  exerted  themselves  to  gain  the  sympath}^ 
of  the  multitude  on  the  ground  of  persecution.  For  a 
time  they  seemed  to  carry  all  before  them.  The  whole 
land  was  deluged  with  enthusiasm.  New  societies 
were  formed  on  "  completely  democratic  principles," 
within  the  space  of  two  years,  at  seven  places  in  Ohio, 
eight  in  Kentucky,  besides  several  others  in  regions 
more  distant.  All  the  varieties  of  exercises  were  to  be 
witnessed  in  connection  with  their  meetings,  including 
"dreaming,  prophesying,  and  looking  as  through  a 
glass  at  the  infinite  glories  of  Mount  Zion,  just  about 
to  break  open  upon  the  world." 

The  Springfield  Presbytery,  formed  by  the  seceding 
members,  now  issued  their  "  Apology."  They  dis- 
tinctly rejected  all  creeds  and  confessions.  They  de- 
nied the  doctrines  of  the  Decrees,  Atonement,  and  the 
influence  of  the  Spirit  in  producing  faith.  The  Bible 
alone  was  to  be  the  bond  of  Christian  fellowship.  But, 
as  they  progressed  iu  knowledge,  they  perceived,  as 


KENTUCKY,    1800-1815,  -  175 

they  thought,  the  imscriptnralncss  of  their  own  organ- 
ization. They  consequently  dissolved  it,  and  informed 
the  world  of  the  fact  in  a  sti'ange  document,  oddly 
entitled,  "TVie  Last  Will  and  Testament  of  the  Springfield 
Presbytery."  The  new  body  had  lasted  (Juno  28,  1804) 
only  nine  months. 

Consistently  enough,  they  renounced  the  title  of 
"  Keverend,"  and  affirmed  the  independence  of  each  in- 
dividual congregation  and  its  prerogative  for  the  exer- 
cise of  all  ecclesiastical  power,  including  discipline, 
licensure,  and  ordination.  All  sectarianism  they  de- 
nounced, and  assumed  for  themselves  the  title  of  "The 
Christian  Church."  Infant  baptism,  soon  to  be  denied 
also,  was  yet  an  open  question.  Exhorters  and 
preachers,  some  of  them  of  the  wildest  notions,  were 
aj)proved  and  sent  out  upon  then'  mission. 

Meanwhile  the  Synod  (in  1804),  by  the  advice  of  a 
committee  of  the  General  Assembly,  entered  upon  the 
consideration  of  a  plan  of  conciliation,  with  a  view 
to  healing  the  disorders  which  had  pi*evailed.'  The 
■plan,  however,  proved  abortive.  The  seceding  mem- 
bers repudiated  the  standards  of  the  Church,  both  for 
doctrine  and  discipline. 

No  other  course  remained  but  to  meet  the  evil  in 
detail.  In  1805  and  1806,  Messrs.  Campbell  and  Stuart 
were  directed  by  the  Assembly  to  itinerate  through 
Northern,  and  Stuart  and  Rice  through  Southern,  Ken- 
tucky, with  a  view  to  regulating  disorders,  restoring 
harmony,  and  reviving  the  spirit  of  the  scattered  and 
despondent  flocks. 

Just  at  this  crisis  (1805),  Matthew  Houston,  bois- 
terous and  jovial  except  when  in  the  pulpit,  added  his 
name  to  the  list  of  seeeders.  He  informed  the  Presby- 
tery that  he  relinquished  the  faith  of  the  Church  and 


^  The  Cumberlaad  schism  was  al  the  same  time  considered. 


176  HISTORY   OF   PRESBYTERIANISM. 

declined  the  authority  of  her  judicatories.  He  was 
first  suspended,  and  finally  deposed  from  the  min- 
istry. It  was  but  a  few  months  before  he  found  the 
New-Lights  too  unprogressive,  and  went  over  to  the 
Shakers. 

But  the  radical  error  of  some  of  the  New-Lights  was 
now  discovering  itself  Stone's  letters  on  the  Atone- 
ment were  exposed  by  Dr.  Campbell,  and  shown  to  be 
full  of  the  rankest  Unitarianism.  Stone  felt  himself 
forced  to  retract  language  in  which  he  had  unwittingly 
adopted  almost  the  very  words  of  an  eminent  deist. 
To  add  to  his  confusion,  his  two  associates,  McISTemar 
and  Dunlavy,  followed  Houston  to  the  Shakers.  Quito 
a  large  number,  controlled  by  their  influence,  SAvelled 
the  accession  to  the  Shaker  ranks.  Rankin  was  not 
long  in  finding  his  way  there  also. 

This  was  mortifying  indeed.  The  New-Lights  had 
hoped  to  turn  successfully  against  those  whom  they 
had  regarded  as  their  persecutors ;  but  a  fearful  defec- 
tion was  now  manifest  among  themselves.  In  spite  of 
their  objections  to  ecclesiastical  jirerogative,  they  en- 
joined silence  upon  quite  a  number  of  their  OAvn  seced- 
ing preachers,  including  McNemar  and  Dunlavy.  The 
bold  Unitarianism  of  Stone  likewise  forced  Marshall 
and  Thompson  to  seek  a  reunion  with  the  Synod.  The 
aiongrel  elements  of  the  comprehensive  union  had  no 
bond  of  sympathy  but  their  latitudinarian  affinities. 
There  was  no  order  or  s^^stem.  Every  one  pursued  his 
own  course,  independent  of  all  others.  "I  see,"  wrote 
Stone  to  Marshall,  in  regard  to  his  churches,  that  they 
are  "  wrong  in  man}-  things.  They  are  not  careful  to 
support  preachers;  they  encourage  too  many  trifling 
preachers,  are  led  away  too  much  by  noise,"  &c. 

Such  a  confession  did  not  help  matters.  Marshall 
and  Thompson  issued  a  pamphlet  in  their  joint  names, 
frankly  confessing  and  unequivocally  retracting  their 


KENTUCKY,    1S00-1S15.  177 

errors.  This  was  a  severe  blOAV  to  the  body.  Stone 
was  now  left  almost  alone,  a  Pelagian  and  Socinian 
in  his  sentiments;  and  from  him,  as  their  patriarch, 
liis  followers  were  known  as  Stoneites.  The  tide  had. 
now  turned.  The  views  of  the  more  discreet  members 
of  Presbj'tery  were  fully  in  the  ascendant.  Eight  years 
of  experience  had  justified  all  their  predictions  and 
their  fears.  They  had  manfully  stood  forward  in  the 
crisis.  The  great  battle  had  been  fought  and  won,  and 
pamphlet  skirmishes  of  no  great  consequence  followed 
at  successive  periods.  At  length  the  death  of  Stone 
left  his  followers  without  a  head;  and  when  their  prin- 
cij^les  became  better  known  to  the  Campbellite  sect,  a 
fraternal  union  took  place  between  them  (1831).  The 
dwindling  ranks  of  the  Stoneites  merely  served  to  swell 
the  growth  of  another  body  which  had,  strangely 
enough,  come  to  occuj^y  the  same  ground.^ 

Meanwhile  a  new  schism  had  sprung  up, — one  far 
more  important  in  its  character  and  results.  In  con- 
sequence of  the  revival,  there  was  an  unprecedented 
demand  for  preachers.  The  lack  of  educated  men  led 
even  ''Father"  Eice  to  consider  whether  lavmen  mio-ht 
not  be  found  adapted  and  qualified  to  be  useful  in  the 
pressing  emergency.  Accordingly,  at  a  meeting  of 
Transylvania  Presbytery  in  October,  1801,  four  men, 
Alexander  Anderson,  Finis  Ewing,  Samuel  King,  and 
Ephraim  McLain,  by  the  advice  of  the  revival  ministers, 


1  The  influence  and  historical  importance  of  the  Stoneites  were 
thus  perpetuated.  In  184-5,  the  Campbellites,  by  whom  they,  as 
well  as  many  of  the  regular  Baptist  and  some  Methodist  churches 
were  absorbed,  numbered  in  Kentucky  three  hundred  and  eighty 
churclies  and  more  than  thirty-throe  thousand  communicants.  In- 
tellectual faith  and  baptism  by  immersion  were  their  cardinal  and 
distinctive  doctrines.  Stone  came  from  North  Carolina  at  about 
the  same  time  with  McGready.  Never  settled  in  doctrine,  he  is 
said  early  to  have  embraced  Arminian  views,  ripening,  however,  into 
an  Arian  at  last. 


178  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

offered  themselves  for  the  service  of  the  Church.  They 
were  somewhat  advanced  in  life  (one  was  an  elder), 
and  were  spoken  of  as  intelligent,  zealous,  and  anxious 
to  preach.  After  some  discussion  and  opposition,  they 
were  allowed  to  read  the  discourses,  which  the}'  liad 
prepared  for  the  occasion,  privately  to  "Father"  liice. 
Upon  his  favorable  report,  they  were  appointed  to  tlic 
duty  of  catechizing  and  exhortation  in  vacant  congre- 
gations. 

At  the  meeting  of  Presbytei'y  the  ensuing  April,  An- 
derson was  received  as  a  candidate  for  the  ministry, 
but  the  others  were  rejected.  At  the  fall  meeting,  by 
the  necessary  absence  of  some  of  the  members  in  order 
to  attend  tlie  meeting  of  Synod,  the  others,  largely 
composed  of  the  lay -element,  were  enabled  to  maiuige 
things  in  their  own  way.  Petitions  were  presented 
from  different  societies  urgently  praying  for  the  li- 
censure of  the  four  catechists.  Notwithstanding  tlieir 
lack  of  education,  and  their  objection  that  the  doctrine 
of  fatalism  was  embodied  hy  the  Confession  of  Faith 
in  the  articles  on  Election  and  Heprobation,^  the  Pres- 
bytery, by  a  vote  of  seventeen  to  five,  voted  to  proceed 
to  the  licensure  of  all  but  McLain.  At  the  same  time, 
two  others  were  licensed  to  preach,  and  three  others 
to  exhort. 

The  members  opposed  to  the  measure,  under  the  lead 


1  It  is  but  justice  to  those  wlio  toolc  exceptions  to  tlie  Confession 
of  Faith  to  say  that  the  historian  of  the  CumVjerhxnd  Pi-eshytorians 
claims  that  "it  had  been  the  practice  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in 
North  Carolina  to  oidaiu  men  to  the  ministry  who  adopted  the  Con- 
fession with  the  exception  of  the  idea  of  fatality  taught  therein. 
The  Transylvania  Presbytery,  in  whose  bounds  the  revival  of  1800 
took  place,  had  adopted  the  same  plan,  and  permitted  ministers 
in  their  ordination-vows  to  make  the  exception  if  they  chose  to  do 
so.  And  it  is  worthy  of  notice,  also,  that  most  of  the  ministers 
wlio  promoted  tlie  revival  were  men  who  made  this  exception  in  the 
doctrine  of  the  Presbyterian  Church." — Crbman,  p.  Go. 


KENTUCKY,    1800-1815.  179 

of  Craiglicad,  entered  their  dissent.  Meanwhile,  in 
ignorance  of  what  had  been  done,  the  S3-nod  liad 
divided  tlie  Transylvania  Presbyterv  and  Ibrnied  the 
new  Presbytery  of  Cumberland.  It  was  composed  of 
most  incongruous  elements.  In  the  main  there  were 
two  parties,  nearly  equally  balanced.  On  one  side 
were  James  McGready,  William  llodge,  William  McGee, 
John  Jvankin,  Samuel  McAdow,  known  as  the  revival 
])arty.  On  the  other  were  Thomas  B.  Craighead,  Terah 
Tem])lin,  John  Bowman.  Samuel  Donnell,  and  James 
Balch,  known  b}"  the  name  given  them  by  their  oppo- 
nents as  the  Anti-Pvcvival  ])arty. 

There  was  little  or  no  sympath}-  between  them. 
They  met  only  when  brought  together  in  Presbytery. 
McGready  considered  Balch  as  an  ojiponent,  who  in  his 
own  neighborhood  and  among  his  own  congregations 
had  headed  a  party  against  him.  There  Avas  not  a  little 
of  mutual  exasperation.  Yet  neither  party  was  strictly 
homogeneous  in  itself  .McCready  and  Ilodge  professed 
to  be  Calvinists.  Piankin  and  3Ic(ree,  with  their  asso- 
ciates among  the  exhorters,  made  no  secret  of  their 
Arminian  leanings.  On  the  other  side,  Craighead  had, 
with  all  his  brilliant  talents  and  love  of  order,  Pelagian 
sympathies;  while  Bowman  leaned  to  the  Stonoites,  and 
3IeAdow,  Templin.  and  Donnell  were  men  of  little  note 
either  jjy  nature  or  education. 

At  the  first  meeting  of  the  new  Prcsbj'tery,  four 
additional  eatechists  were  licensed.  Soon  after.  Finis 
Ewing,  already  licensed,  on  tlie  petition  of  several  con- 
gregations, was  ordained.  Exhorters  whose  doctrinal 
views  were  indetinite.  if  not  directly  opposed  to  the 
Confession,  were  multiplied  till  tin  y  numbered  seven- 
teen. Some  of  these  were  received  as  candidates  upon 
very  insufficient  gi-ounds.  They  were  merely  directed 
to  show  the  sermon  which  they  had  prepared  to  the 
nearest   or  most   accessible   minister.     They   were   re- 


180  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

quired  to  receive  the  Confession  of  Faith  so  far  only  as 
they  believed  it  to  agree  witli  tlie  word  of  God.  The 
exhorters  travelled  on  their  "  circuits,"  and  the  con- 
gregations were  directed  to  contribute  to  their  support. 
Their  labors  Avei-e  reported  as  wonderful]}'  successful. 
New  societies  were  organized  and  furnished  with  elders. 
It  was  obvious  that,  if  this  state  of  things  was  to  con- 
tinue, the  ascendency  of  the  lay  element  representing 
the  chui'ches  would  soon  reduce  the  influence  of  the 
more  orderly  ministers  to  a  mere  cipher. 

The  aspect  of  aifairs  now  began  to  excite  apprehen- 
sion. "  Father"  Rice,  by  direction  of  the  Presbyter}'- 
of  Transylvania,  from  which  that  of  Cumberland  had 
been  set  off  by  the  Synod,  addressed  a  letter  to  the 
General  Assembly,  asking  advice  in  regard  to  the  course 
to  be  pursued  in  licensing  men  to  preach  without  a 
liberal  education.  The  reply  urged  caution,  in  the 
selection  o£  2}n(dent  and  sound  men,  3'et  admitted  that 
catechists  like  those  of  the  primitive  times  might  be 
useful  assistants.  They  wei-c  not,  liowever,  to  be  con- 
sidered as  standing  officers  in  the  church.  Yet  if  they 
proved  diligent  and  jn-oniised  usefulness  they  might 
in  time  be  admitted  to  the  ministry. 

In  1803,  the  records  of  Cumbei-hind  Presbytery  were 
not  before  Synod.  But  in  the  following  year  a  protest 
and  complaint  against  the  doings  of  the  majority, 
sif«-ned  by  Craighead,  Donnell,  and  Bowman,  brought 
up  the  subject.  The  difficulties  presented  by  the  case 
ibrced  them  to  lay  it  over  to  anotiier  year.  All  that 
could  be  done  at  the  time  was  to  enjoin  particular 
attention  to  the  constitutional  rules  and  the  advice  con- 
tained in  the  Assembly's  letter.  A  committee,  consist- 
ing of  Rice,  Blythe,  Lyle,  Cameron,  and  Rannels,  was 
appointed  to  attend  the  meeting  of  Cumberland  Pres- 
bj'tery  and  report  the  fticts  of  the  case. 

None  of  the  committee  attended  but  Cameron.     He 


KENTUCKY,    1S00-1S15.  181 

declined  to  sit  as  a  corresponding  member,  and  Avas 
regarded  in  the  light  of  a  spy.  The  young  men  refused 
to  read  their  trial-pieces  before  him;  and  the  very  ap- 
pointment of  the  committee  was  held  up  to  odium  as 
an  inquisitorial  proceeding. 

In  1805,  the  whole  case  came  before  Synod  upon  the 
review  of  the  Cumberland  records,  which  wovo  at  last 
forthcoming.  Only  two  members  of  the  Cumberland 
Presbyter}',  Donnell  and  Dickey,  were  present.  The 
committee  on  the  records  were  Cameron,  L3'le,  and 
Henderson.  They  reported  them  extremel}"  defective, 
discordant,  and  obscure.  They  noticed  the  reception 
of  a  Methodist  preacher,  the  licensing  of  the  seventeen 
exhorters,  sometimes  called  licentiates,  the  establish- 
ment of  "  circuits,"  and  other  points  of  a  kindred  cha- 
racter. The  Synod  were  embarrassed  in  regard  to  the 
course  to  be  pursued.  For  immediate  action  they  were 
not  prepared.  No  one  was  present  to  defend  the  Pres- 
byter}';  and  they  could  not  be  sure  of  all  the  facts 
necessary  to  form  a  judgment.  The  adoption  of  the 
Confession  with  reservations  was  not  mentioned  in  the 
records.  Of  the  degree  of  disqualification  on  the  part  of 
the  licentiates,  they  were  not  authoritatively  informed. 
Cameron,  the  only  member  of  the  committee  of  in- 
quiry who  had  attended  the  meeting  of  Presbytery, 
declined  to  make  any  report. 

Something,  it  was  felt,  must  be  done.  The  Synod, 
however,  adopted  a  questionable  expedient.  A  com- 
mission was  appointed,  vested  with  full  synodical  poivers, 
to  investigate  and  adjudicate  the  case.  It  consisted  of 
ten  ministers  and  six  elders, — seven  of  the  former,  with 
as  many  elders  as  should  be  present,  to  form  a  quorum. 
They  were  to  meet  within  six  weeks  at  Gaspar  River 
Meeting-House,  and  the  Stated  Clerk  was  charged  to 
cite  all  parties  to  attend.  The  da}'  of  their  meeting 
was  appointed  to  be  observed  by  the  churches  of  the 

Vol.  II.— 16 


182  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

Synod  as  a  day  of  fasting  and  prayer  for  the  divine 
blessing  upon  the  proceedings  of  the  commission. 

On  Tuesday,  Dec,  3.  1805,  the  commission  met.  Lyle 
was  moderator,  and  in  a  sermon  three  hours  long  he 
dilated  on  tlie  call  and  qualifieations  necessar}-  to  the 
exercise  of  the  gospel  ministry.  There  M'as  profound 
attention  to  the  close.  Some  seemed  pleased  and  editied; 
but  most  of  the  members  of  Cumberland  Presbytery 
were  ill  at  ease.  The  policj'  of  the  cojnmission  was 
foreshadowed  by  the  sermon. 

The  members  of  the  Cumberland  Presbytery,  so  far 
as  implicated,  were  all  present, — McGready,  Hodge, 
Eankin,  ilcGee,  McAdoAv,  Ilawe,  and  the  four  licen- 
tiates, Ewing,  King,  Nelson,  and  Hodge;  as  also  Kirk- 
patrick,  Porter,  Bell,  Foster,  and  Calhoun,  licentiates, 
and  Guthrie,  Blythe,  and  Donnell,  candidates. 

The  commission  soon  found  that  their  task  Avas  to 
be  no  light  one.  Their  office  was  represented  to  be 
merely  to  cut  off  the  3'oung  preachers  and  circuit-riders 
and  stop  the  revival.  Each  of  them  was  designated  by 
some  opprobrious  nickname.  Only  one  man  in  the 
whole  region  would  extend  them  hos])itality,  and  he 
lived  three  or  four  miles  fnjm  the  church.  Rankin,  the 
pastor,  who  afterward  joined  the  Shakers,  was  an 
avowed  Arminian  ;  and,  preaching  after  adjournment, 
in  the  presence  of  the  commission,  he  emploA-ed  the 
most  inflammatory  language,  "  well  calculated,"  says 
Davidson,'  "to  provoke  mobbing  and  personal  vio- 
lence." 

The  commission,  however,  proceeded  to  their  work. 
The  case  of  the  Methodist,  Hawe,  was  first  taken  up; 
but  he  prudently  refused  to  be  examined,  on  the  plea 
that  he  could  not  be  reached  except  b}'  a  regular  trial 
for  heresy.     The  subject  of  the  licensures  and  ordina- 

1  History  of  Presbyterian  Clmrcli  in  Kentucky,  p.  235. 


KENTUCKY,    1800-1815,  183 

tioiis  was  then  considered.  Of  these  cases  there  were 
no  less  than  twenty-seven.  In  regard  to  them  it  was 
clearly  ascertained  that  the  candidates  had  been  per- 
mitted to  adopt  the  Confession  with  the  reservation, 
'•  so  far  as  they  deemed  it  agreeable  to  the  word  of 
God."  Yet  nothing  of  the  kind  appeared  on  the 
records. 

The  Presbyter}' justified  their  course.  Most  of  them 
were  delinquent  themselves,  and  the  cause  of  the  licen- 
tiates was  also  their  own.  The  Confession,  they  said, 
was  a  human  composition,  and  of  course  fallible,  and 
They  could  not  in  conscience  feel  bound  by  it  any  fur- 
tlier  than  it  agreed  with  the  Scriptures.  They  freely 
avowed  that  they  did  not  believe  all  its  contents,  nor 
could  they  consistently  require  such  belief  of  others. 
For  their  conduct  in  regard  to  the  licensing  of  unedu- 
cated men,  they  pleaded  the  exception  in  the  fourteenth 
chapter  of  the  Form  of  Government,  as  well  as  numerous 
precedents  in  the  history  of  the  Church. 

In  these  circumstances,  the  commissioners  determined 
to  examine  for  themselves  and  judge  of  the  young 
jiien's  qualifications.  But  the  majority  of  the  Presby- 
tery here  interposed,  claiming  for  themselves  the  ex- 
clusive right  to  examine  and  license  their  own  candi- 
dates. "  I  stand,"  said  Mr.  Hodge,  "  between  these 
young  men  and  3'our  bar."  The  commissioners  ad- 
dressed them,  urging  compliance.  The  moderator, 
Howe,  solemnly  adjured  both  the  majority  and  the 
young  meji  to  submit,  pledging  himself  that  no  in- 
justice should  be  done,  and  that  those  who  Avere  found 
fitted  should  receive  a  license.  The  parties  proposed 
to  Avithdraw  for  deliberation.  This  Avas  assented  to. 
As  the}'  Avere  about  to  leave.  Stuart,  one  of  the  com- 
missioners, rose  under  the  impulse  of  the  moment, 
entreating  them  seriously  to  Aveigh  the  consequences 
of  their  decision.     Under  the  earnest  pathos  of  his  ap- 


184  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

peal,  all  j^resent,  including  the  3'oung  men,  were  melted 
into  tears.  It  was  felt  on  all  Hides  to  be  a  solemn  and 
critical  moment.  In  the  interval  of  the  absence  of  the 
parties,  the  commission,  with  the  Assembly,  engaged  in 
prayer. 

On  the  return  of  the  ])arties,  the  major  part  of  the 
Presbytery — McGready,  llodge,  McAdow,  Rankin,  and 
McGee — collectively  and  individually  answered  the 
question,  "Do  you  submit':"  in  the  negative.  Tlie 
young  men  were  next  called  upon.  They  gave  in- 
dividually the  same  reply.  The}"  declared  themselves 
amenable  to  the  Presbytery  alone,  which  they  con- 
sidered a  regular  church  judicatory  and  the  proper 
tribunal. 

The  commission,  whether  wisely  or  not,  adojited 
decisive  measures.  The  recusants,  twenty-four  in  num- 
ber, were  accounted  by  their  contumacy  to  have  vir- 
tually renounced  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  and  were  solemnly  prohibited,  until  they  should 
submit  themselves,  from  preaching  or  administering 
ordinances  by  any  Presbyterial  authority.  As  to 
McGready,  Hodge,  McGee,  Eankin,  and  McAdow,  the 
commission  waived  its  right  to  proceed  against  them 
for  error  or  contumacy,  and  remanded  them  to  Synod, 
at  whose  next  meeting  they  were  cited  to  aj)pear. 

Hodge,  Eankin,  and  McGee  handed  in  a  written  re- 
fusal to  obey  the  citation,  on  the  ground  that  it  was 
unconstitutional.  But  the  commission  reaffirmed  the 
citation.  There  existed,  according  to  their  view,  an 
imperative  necessity  for  taking  the  case  out  of  the 
hands  of  the  Presbytery.  To  obviate  the  objection  to  a 
general  charge  of  heresy  against  the  three  members, 
they  specified  the  errors  held  by  them, — "the  denial  of 
the  doctrine  of  election,  and  the  holding  that  there  is  a 
certain  sufficiency  of  grace  given  to  every  man,  which 


KENTUCKY,    lSOO-1815.  Ig5 

if  he  improve,  he  shuU  receive  more  until  he  arrive  at 
true  conversion." 

At  the  same  time  the  case  of  the  Sliiloli  Cluirch  was 
considered,  and  the  judgment  of  the  Presb^-terj'  in 
regard  to  it  reversed.  The  pastor  of  the  cl)urch  was 
Mr.  Hodge;  but  his  extravagances  disaffected  tlie  more 
orderly  portion,  who  withdrew,  organized  a  new  church, 
and  called  Thomas  B.  Craighead  to  be  their  pastor. 
The  commission,  avoiding  all  interference  with  the 
civil  aspects  of  the  case,  permitted  the  appellants  to 
continue  as.  a  church,  excepting  only  to  the  name 
(Shiloh),  which  they  retained  from  the  old  congrega- 
tion. 

The  commission  had  discharged  its  task. — respon- 
sible, arduous,  and  odious.  Its  members  were  able, 
devoted,  and  generally  discreet  men.  They  were  called 
to  act  in  a  crisis  without  precedent,  and  in  which  they 
had  to  rely  largely  npon  their  own  good  judgment. 
In  the  midst  of  opposition,  ridicule,  and  invective,  they 
aimed  to  dischai'ge  their  duty;  and  if  they  erred,  they 
Avere  unquestionably  conscientious  in  their  error.  The 
Kyriod  by  appointing  them  had  assumed  beforehand  the 
responsibility  for  their  acts. 

Their  report  was  published,  and  the  commission  dis- 
solved. The  Cumberland  Presbytery  formed  itself  into 
•?,  council  composed  of  ministers,  elders,  and  rejiresenta- 
tives  of  vacant  churches.  All  the  congregations  con- 
nected with  the  party  remained  faithful  to  it,  with  few 
exceptions.  The  preachers,  in  spite  of  the  prohibition 
by  the  Synod's  commission,  continued  their  labors. 
The  revival  still  progressed,  and  numbers  were  added 
to  the  churches. 

The  next  meeting  of  Synod  was  at  Lexington,  Oct. 
21,  1806.  From  the  Cumberland  Presbyterj^,  Craig- 
head, TempUn,  Hodge,  Eankin,  Donnell,  and  Dickey 
were  present.  Hodge  and  Eankin  came,  not  in  obedience 

10* 


186  HISTORY    OF   PRESBYTERIANISM. 

to  the  citation,  but  by  the  advice  of  theii-  brethren,  for 
the  purpose  of  effecting  a  reconciliation.  Being  called 
upon,  they  professed  themselves  willing  to  submit  to 
an  examination;  but  they  could  not  assent  to  the  si- 
lencing of  the  young  men.  They  disavowed  all  hetero- 
dox opinions,  but  would  not  yield  on  this  point  to  the 
authority  of  Synod.  The  result  was  that,  after  con- 
siderable delay  and  much  effort  by  private  conference, 
sentence  of  suspension  was  pronounced  upon  them. 
They  refused  to  appeal  to  any  earthly  tribunal,  yet 
soon  joined  with  the  council  of  their  brethren  in  send- 
ing up  a  letter  of  remonstrance  to  the  next  General 
Assembly. 

This  step  was  doubtless  felt  by  them  to  be  the  more 
imperative  from  the  fact  that  the  Synod,  despairing  of 
all  prospect  of  change  in  the  policy  of  the  Cumberland 
Presbytery  as  then  constituted,  reannexed  the  mem- 
bers to  the  Presb3^tery  of  Transylvania. 

In  May,  1807,  the  matter  was  brought,  by  the  remon- 
strance of  the  members  of  the  Cumberland  Presbytery, 
to  the  attention  of  the  General  Assembly.  Here  diverse 
views  were  taken  of  it.  From  the  Synod  of  Kentucky 
were  Cameron,  Kemper,  and  McCalla,  an  elder.  Came- 
ron alone  sustained  the  Synod.  In  the  Assembly,  Dr. 
Green,  Messrs.  Janeway,  Cathcart,  and  Linn,  agreed 
with  him,  while  Drs.  Miller,  Woodhull,  James  P.  Wil- 
son, and  Speece  were  strenuous  in  opposition.  The 
debate  was  keen  and  spirited.  The  prevalent  opinion 
was  that  the  Presbytery  had  erred,  but  that  the  Synod 
had  been  too  rigorous.  It  was  argued  that  a  Synod 
could  not  proceed  against  individual  members  of  a 
Presbytery  except  in  case  of  appeal ;  that  only  a  Pres- 
bytery could  examine  licentiates,  or  call  its  members 
to  account ;  that  for  Synod  to  suspend  ordained  min- 
isters, especially  by  a  commission,  was  a  transcending 
of  its  powers.     The  reannexing  of  the  Cumberland  to 


KENTUCKY,    1800-1815  187. 

the  Transylvanui  Presbj'teiy  was  full}-  justified,  but  on 
the  other  points  the  measures  of  the  .Synod  were  re- 
presented as  harsh  and  unwarranted. 

The  defenders  of  the  Synod  were  not  silent.  They 
contended  strenuously  i'or  the  necessity  of  strict  dis- 
cipline, and  insisted  on  the  rights  and  authority  of 
Synod  and  General  Assembly.  The  case  seemed  as 
difficult  at  the  East  as  it  had  appeared  at  Lexington. 
The  result  was  that  the  Assembly'  addi-cssed  two  letters, 
one  to  the  Synod,  and  one  to  members  of  the  Presby- 
tery. 

In  the  first,  the  Assembly  commended  the  Synod's 
zeal,  at  the  same  time  suggesting  that  the  commission's 
insisting  upon  a  re-examination  of  the  candidates  was 
'•at  least  of  questionable  regularity,"  and  advising 
them  to  review  their  proceedings  and  adopt  milder 
methods.^  "Without  implying  that  the  demands  of  our 
standards  should  be  regarded  otherwise  than  inviolable 
and  indispensable,  yet  there  must  be  supposed  the  right 
and  duty  of  exercising  a  sound  discretion,  which  will 
consult  the  spirit  as  well  as  the  letter  of  the  law; 
which  will  sometimes  forbid  the  exercise  of  legitimate 
power ;  which  will  endeavor,  with  equal  caution,  to 
avoid  the  extremes  of  rigor  and  laxness ;  which  will 
yield  something,  yet  not  concede  every  thing,  to  cir- 
cumstances; which,  in  a  word,  will  recollect  that  power 
is  given  for  edification  and  not  for  destruction,  and 
endeavor  to  be  guided  by  this  rule."  They  closed  by 
expressing  the  hope  that  Synod  might  be  able  to  re- 
establish the  Presbytery  of  Cumberland,  restoring 
some  of  its  former  members  to  their  place,  without 
sacrificing  either  the  doctrines  or  the  government  of 
the  Chui'ch. 

In   their  other  letter  they  express   their  regret  in 

>  Davidson,  p.  247. 


188  HISTORY    OF   PRKSUYTERIANISiM. 

view  of  the  difficulties  which  existed,  and  their  appre- 
hension that  they  liad  been  caused  by  the  improper 
course  of  the  Presbyter}'  in  licensing  unqualified  per- 
sons, and  in  allowing  them  to  adopt  the  Confession  of 
Faith  in  a  form  not  sufficiently  explicit.  This  conduct 
the  Assembl}'  decidedly  disapproved,  as  highlt/  irregular 
and  unconstitutional.  As  the  complainants  had  made 
no  regular  appeal,  there  was  no  call  for  a  judicial  de- 
cision, and  they  Avere  referred  back  to  the  S^-nod,  now 
advised  to  review  their  proceedings.  The  letter  closed 
with  an  exhortation  to  a  strict  and  steady  adherence  to 
the  Constitution  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  en- 
deavors to  promote  the  peace  and  the  best  interests  of 
the  Redeemer's  kingdom. 

The  Synod  reviewed  theii-  proceedings,  including  the 
measures  of  the  commission.  But  they  saw  nothing 
to  retract.  Thc}^  denied  that  the  irregularly-ordained 
preachers  had  been  suspended  at  all  in  a  technical 
sense,  or  that  the  commission  had  dealt  with  them 
without  process.  A  committee  was  appoijited  to  answer 
the  Assembly's  letter;  but  their  communication  did  not 
reach  its  destination  until  1800,  a  year  after  the  time 
when  it  should  have  been  received. 

The  recusant  members  were  now  in  the  hands  of 
Transjdvania  Presbytery.  They  were  invited  by  it  to 
a  friendly  interview;  but  only  Mr.  Ilodge  was  present. 
After  protracted  deliberation,  they  concluded  to  insist 
on  the  necessity  of  acknowledgment  and  submission 
from  the  contumacious  members,  and  a  re-examination 
and  new  and  more  explicit  adoption  of  the  Confession 
of  Faith  on  the  part  of  the  young  men. 

The  Council  refused  to  submit  to  the  terms  imposed. 
They  again  made  application  to  the  Assembly  (1808), 
and  petitioned  for  relief.  But  they  were  again  referred 
back  to  the  S^-nod  as  the  only  body  competent  to  re- 
dress their  grievances.  Yet  there  were  in  the  Assembly 


KENTUCKY,    1S00-1S15.  189 

many  who  strongly  aympatbized  with  them.  After  its 
adjournment,  Dr.  Wilson  wrote  to  Mr.  Hodge  a  letter, 
in  which  he  expressed  his  own  judgment  and  feelings. 
He  regarded  the  commission  as  unconstitutional,  as- 
sured Mr.  Hodge  of  the  lavorable  sentiments  of  the 
Assembly,  urged  him  to  return  and  a})peal  regularly, — 
although  a  disagreeable  condescension, — recommended 
the  establishment  of  a  grammar-school,  and  gently  ad- 
vised adherence  to  the  standards. 

The  Synod  learned  that  their  letter  had  not  been  re- 
ceived. The}'  drew  up  another  of  similar  tenor,  but 
more  condensed.  It  Avas  laid  before  the  Assembly  of 
1809,  at  which  Messrs.  Lyle  and  Stuart  appeared  also 
to  defend  the  Synod.  At  first  the  case  wore  a  dark 
aspect;  but  in  the  light  of  the  facts  elicited,  and  through 
the  impression  made  by  the  speech  of  Mr.  Lyle,  the 
prospect  changed.  Dr.  Green  and  Dr.  Dwight,  that 
year  a  delegate  from  the  General  Association  of  Con- 
necticut, warmly  supported  the  cause  of  the  Synod,  and 
their  proceedings  were  sustained  without  a  dissenting 
voice.  The  decision  Avas  final.  The  Council  had  no 
more  to  hope  from  the  action  of  the  General  Assembl}-. 

Yet  they  resolved  on  one  further  eifort  for  reconcilia- 
tion. A  committee  was  appointed  to  propose  their 
terms  to  the  S^'nod.  These  were,  a  willingness  to  be 
examined  by  the  Sj^nod,  Presbytei'y,  or  a  committee, 
on  doctrinal  points,  provided  that  the}'  were  received 
or  rejected  as  a  connected  body,  and  that  all  the  or- 
dained ministers  or  licentiates  retain  their  former  au- 
thority derived  from  the  Cumberland  Presbytery.  As 
to  the  Confession,  they  Avero  willing  to  adopt  it,  if  re- 
quired, except  only  that  portion  which  seemed  to  them 
to  teach  the  doctrine  of  fatality. 

The  Synod  refused  to  accept  the  terms,  but  directed 
the  Presbytery  of  Transylvania  to  meet  for  the  special 
purpose  of  restoring  such  individuals  as  should  be  found 


190  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM, 

qualified,  and  submissive  to  the  authority  of  Synod. 
The  meeting  was  held  at  Greentown,  Dec.  6,  1809. 
William  Hodge,  his  ne^ihew  Samuel  Hodge,  and 
Thomas  Nelson,  were  present.  The  first,  after  profes- 
sion of  sorrow  for  past  irreguhirities,  and  avowing  his 
full  subscription  to  the  Confession  of  Faith  and  sub- 
mission to  tlie  discipline  of  the  Church,  was  restored 
to  his  former  standing.  The  others  were  examined 
and  approved,  and  their  former  license  and  ordination 
unanimously  confirmed.  They  were  recognized  and 
welcomed,  and  took  their  seats  as  members  of  the  Pres- 
bytery. McGready,  decidedly  Calvinistic  in  his  senti- 
ments, had  for  some  time  felt  a  decreasing  sympathy 
with  the  Council.  On  Oct.  8,  1810,  he  followed  up  a 
letter  of  submission  to  the  Presbj^tery,  wdiich  he  had 
previously  written,  by  full  acknowledgments  in  person, 
and  was  likewise  restored.  McGee  was  so  undecided 
between  Arminianism  and  the  Confession  that  he  ceased 
to  preach.  McAdow  was  in  too  feeble  health  to  con- 
tinue his  functions.  Rankin  apostatized  to  the  Shakers, 
and  was  deposed.  So  that  Ewing  and  King  were  the 
only  ordained  ministers  left,  and  tbey  were  under  the 
ban  of  the  S^-nod.  Thus  the  Council  that  had  resolved 
to  form  itself  into  a  Presbytery  found  itself  without  a 
necessary  quorum. 

The  only  resource  left  was  to  apply  to  McAdow.^ 

1  Peter  Cartwright,  in  his  Autobiography,  states  (p.  47)  that  the 
Cumberhxnd  Presbyterians  sought  at  one  time  to  effect  a  union 
with  the  Methodist  Church.  '-While  in  this  amputated  condition, 
they  called  a  general  meeting  of  all  their  licentiates.  They  met 
our  presiding  elder,  .J.  Page,  and  a  number  of  Methodist  ministers, 
at  a  quarterly  meeting  in  Logan  county,  and  proposed  to  join  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  as  a  body  ;  but  our  ministers  declined 
this  oifer,  and  persuaded  them  to  rise  up  and  embody  themselves 
together  and  constitute  a  Church.  They  reluctantly  yielded  to  this 
advice,  and  in  due  time  and  form  constituted  themselves  the  Cum- 
berland Presbyterian  Church." 


KENTUCKY,    1S00-1S15.  191 

After  some  hesitation,  light  at  last  dawned  upon  his 
mind.  He  consented  to  co-operate  Avith  p]\viuo-  and 
Jving  ill  the  foriuation  of  a  Presbyteiy  l>y  the  okl  nuuie 
of  Cumberland.  Tlie  first  act  of  tlie  new  bod}"  was  to 
ordain  the  licentiate  McLean.  A  brief  constitution, 
stating-  tlieir  grievances  and  their  patient  waiting- 
through  four  3-ears  for  redress,  and  justi tying  their 
procedure,  was  adopted.  They  recognized  as  their 
standards  tlje  Confession  and  discipline  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church,  but  made  provision  for  the  relief  of 
those  who  objected  that  the  doctrine  of  fatality  was 
taught  in  the  articles.  Candidates  were  to  be  examined 
for  licensure,  but  acquaintance  with  languages  was  not 
required. 

The  Presbytery  of  Transylvania  suspended  McAdow 
for  his  proceedings  in  the  matter.  McGee  was  dealt 
with  in  a  similar  manner,  though  on  other  grounds,  by 
the  Presbytery  of  Muldenburg,  set  otf  (1810)  from  the 
Presbytery  of  Transylvania.  Tlie  breach  was  thus 
widened.  Some  subsequent  efforts  for  union  proved 
futile,  and  intercommunion  between  the  Cumberland 
Presbyterians  and  those  who  adhered  to  the  General 
Assembly  (1811)  thenceforth  ceased. 

No  longer  trammelled  by  its  former  connections,  the 
progress  of  the  new  Presbytery  was  rapid.  In  tlireo 
years  it  grew  into  a  S^-nod  numbering  sixty  congrega- 
tions. It  was  composed  of  three  Presbyteries, — Cum- 
berland, afterward  changed  to  JS'ashville,  Logan,  and 
Elk.  Its  first  meeting  was  Oct.  5,  1813,  -when  it  pre- 
sented to  the  world  a  summary  of  its  tenets. 

In  the  following  year  it  took  a  bolder  step.  The 
Confession  of  the  Presbj^terian  Chui'ch  was  "modelled, 
expunged,  and  added  to,"  to  suit  its  views.  It  aimed 
to  steer  a  middle  course  between  Arminianism  and  tlie 
Confession,  rejecting  the  articles  charged  with  teaching 
the  doctrine  of  fatality.    Most  appropriately  in  the  same 


192  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

year  the  Asseinbl}'  decided  that  those  constituting  the 
Synod  were  to  be  viewed  as  deriving  no  authority 
from  the  Presbyterian  Church;  and  in  1825  their  rela- 
tion to  it  was  declared  to  be  the  same  with  that  "of 
other  denominations,  not  connected  with  our  body." 

From  the  period  of  its  formation,  the  new  denomina- 
tion continued  to  make  a  steady  advance.  In  1827,  so 
obviouf^  had  become  the  importance  among  them  of  in- 
creased attention  to  ministerial  education,  that  a  char- 
tered manual-labor  institution  was  opened  at  Prince- 
ton, Caldwell  county,  Ky.  It  bore  the  title  of  the  Cum- 
berland Presbyterian  College,  under  the  Presidency  of 
Bev.  Dr.  Cossit,  and  to  it  was  annexed  a  theological 
department.  In  1829,  the  one  Synod  had  multiplied  to 
four, — Missouri,  Green  Eiver,  Franklin,  and  Cumber- 
land. A  General  Assembly  comprising  them  was  now 
convened  j  and  thus  the  new  denomination  took  the 
name,  place,  and  rank  Avhich  it  still  holds  among  the 
Presbyterian  bodies  of  the  laud. 

The  Cumberland  sciiism — we  use  the  term  in  no 
harsh  sense,  for  it  in  fact  rent  in  sunder  the  churches 
of  Kentucky — originated  in  part  in  the  necessity 
created  by  the  revival  fur  an  increase  in  the  number 
of  ministers,  and  in  part  in  the  crude  doctrinal  vieAvs 
promulgated  in  a  time  of  excitement  by  men  more  in- 
tent in  their  zeal  to  produce  excitement  than  to  in- 
struct the  ignorant  or  present  gospel  truth  in  its  proper 
and  relative  proportions.  The  first  difficulty  was  one 
which  had  been  experienced  for  the  whole  period  of 
the  preceding  century,  as  tlie  bounds  of  the  Church 
were  extended  and  new  congregations  were  multiplied, 
although  in  connection  Avith  the  Kentucky  Pvcvival  it 
assumed  a  graver  aspect.  The  supply  of  ministers  fell 
far  short  of  the  demand.  This  was  not  disputed  in 
any  quarter.  It  was  at  the  suggestion  of  Father  Eice 
himself  that  laymen  were  selected  to  serve,  as  occasion 


KENTUCKY,    1800-1815.  193 

required,  in  the  capacity  of  catechists  or  exhorters.' 
The  General  Assembly  sanctioned  this  plan  as  far  as 
prudence  would  warrant.  But,  as  the  result  of  the  in- 
troduction of  what  was  virtually  the  lay  element  into 


1  As  an  illustratioa  of  the  liberality,  not  to  say  laxness  of  view?, 
which  prevailed  among  even  the  more  conservative  Presbyterians 
in  regard  to  introducing  uneducated  men  into  the  ministry,  it  will 
suffice  to  state  the  circumstances  in  which  Thomas  Cleland  was 
licensed  and  ordained.  Although  he  had  obtained  the  rudiments 
of  a  classical  education,  the  death  of  his  father  and  mother  threw 
upon  him  the  entire  responsibility  of  a  family  unprovided  for;  and 
his  necessary  labors  for  their  support  and  his  subsequent  marriage 
seemed  to  preclude  the  hope  of  his  entering  the  ministry.  But  on 
one  or  two  occasions,  under  the  pressure  of  circumstances  which 
seemed  to  demand  a  religious  address,  he  had  ventured  to  exhort, 
and  had  done  so  with  great  acceptance.  This  fact  had  come  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  Presbytery.  During  its  session  at  New  Providence 
Church  his  marriage  took  place.  Of  the  Presbytery  only  three 
members  were  present, — a  bare  quorum.  These,  on  invitation,  ad- 
journed to  the  place  of  marriage.  After  supper,  about  ten  or 
eleven  o'clock,  he  was  conducted  by  one  of  the  members,  Mr. 
Cameron,  before  the  body,  with  a  view,  as  he  supposed,  to  obtain  a 
license  to  exhort.  He  was  examined  on  experimental  religion,  and 
his  views  of  what  constituted  a  caU  to  the  ministry, — all  which  he 
regarded  as  necessary  to  his  preparation  for  licensure  as  exhorter. 
After  some  other  inquiries,  he  was  asked  if  he  could  not  be  induced 
to  consent  to  be  a  candidate  for  the  ministry.  He  replied  in  the 
negative.  Again  and  again  they  endeavored  to  remove  his  difficul- 
ties. He  was  assured  of  a  lenient  consideration  of  his  case;  but 
all  in  vain.  Still  the  Presbytery  persisted,  and  gave  him  a  text  to 
write  upon,  "Woe  is  me  if  I  preach  not  the  gospel,"  requesting  him 
to  be  ready  at  the  spring-meeting  of  Presbytery.  He  wrote  his 
sermon,  dismissed  the  subject  from  his  thoughts,  gave  up  the  idea 
of  meeting  the  Presbytery  again,  but  by  peculiar  circumstances 
was  induced,  contrary  to  his  expectations,  to  attend  its  spring 
sessions.  He  found  that  on  the  records  of  Presbytery  he  was  a 
candidate,  had  been  examined,  &c.,  greatly  to  his  surprise.  Hap- 
pily, his  sermon  was  with  him :  he  preached  it,  and  received  his  licen- 
sure ;  and  few  men  ever  made  better  proof  of  their  ministry. — Lif^ 
of  Cleland. 

Vol.  U.—ll 


194  HISTORY    OP    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

the  Presbytery,  as  well  as  in  consequence  of  the  party- 
zeal  of  those  who  assumed  the  title  of  ''  Revival  Men," 
a  controlling  influence  in  Cumberland  Presbytery  was 
secured  by  those  by  whom  the  authority  of  the  Synod 
was  regarded  with  jealousy  and  distrust.  Some  of  the 
teachers,  moreover,  who  were  now  admitted  to  the 
charge  of  churches  were  quite  incompetent;  and  their 
unsoundness  is  perhaps  full  as  chargeable  to  their  de- 
ficient education  as  to  any  proper  aversion  to  the  doc- 
trines of  the  Confession.  These  were  evident!}^  mis- 
interpreted and  misunderstood.  If  a  kindly  feeling 
could  but  have  been  maintained  between  the  Presby- 
tery and  the  Synod,  misconceptions  and  misapprehen- 
sions might  in  time  have  been  removed.  But  the  ex- 
traordinary and  extrajudicial  measure  of  the  Synod, — 
however  it  might  seem  to  have  been  necessitated  by 
the  occasion, — and  the  fixed  resolve  to  revoke  the 
licenses  already'  granted,  i)roduced  a  degree  of  aliena- 
tion and  exasperation  which  forbade  the  hope  of  recon- 
ciliation. 

Reviewing  the  whole  matter  at  this  distance  of  time 
and  with  the  coolness  of  historical  impartialit}",  we 
find  much  on  both  sides  which  we  can  palliate  and 
excuse,  as  well  as  some  things  which  Ave  must  con- 
demn. The  Synod — considering  its  own  antecedents, 
or,  at  least,  the  acts  of  some  of  its  own  members — might 
well  have  exercised  lenit}^  toward  those  who  at  first 
erred  sim])ly  in  slightly  improving  upon  its  own  ex- 
ample. Not  a  few  of  its  ministers  had  been  introduced 
to  their  work  with  but  little  more  preparation  than  the 
Cumberland  candidates.  And  as  to  the  act  of  the  Pres- 
bytery in  dispensing  with  strict  subscription  to  the 
standards,  although  a  dangerous  and  unwarranted 
measure,  more  healing  methods  of  correction  might 
have  been  devised,  and  probably,  if  applied  in  the 
spirit  which  evidently  prevailed  when  the  matter  was 


KENTUCKY,    1800-1S15.  19^ 

first  brought  before  the  Assembly,  would  have  proved 
suceessiul.  The  more  summary  metliod  which  was 
adopted — and  adopted,  too,  by  those  who  had  themselves 
established  precedents  which  might  almost  justify  the 
action  of  the  aggrieved  party — only  hastened  events 
which  kindness  and  wisdom,  with  the  aid  of  time,  might 
have  prevented.  The  Cumberland  Presbj'tcry  offered 
to  submit,  provided  the  men  already  licensed  and  or- 
dained were  allowed  to  hold  their  position.  If  the 
conimission  of  Sj'nod  or  the  Presbytery  had  consented 
to  this  compromise,  there  is  no  doubt  that  it  would 
have  been  sanctioned  hy  the  General  Assembly;  and, 
as  a  result,  a  vast  number  thenceforth  alienated  would 
liave  been  brought  under  the  influence  of,  and  in  all 
probabilit}'  have  been  led  to  full  conformity  to,  our  or- 
thodox standards.^  It  was  with  manifest  reluctance, 
and,  we  apprehend,  under  as  strong  and  clear  a  sense 
of  justice  as  that  evinced  by  the  commission,  that 
they  finally  withdrew.  It  is  impossible,  from  a  candid 
review  of  the  attitude  of  parties,  and  the  beat  evinced 
by  some  of  the  "  Anti-Eevival"  men  who  exerted  a 
powerful  influence  in  the  Synod,  to  avoid  the  conviction 
that  to  their  strenuousness,  if  not  their  exaggeration 
of  the  errors  charged  on  the  opposite  party,  the  ex- 
tent at  least  of  the  secession  was  largely  due. 

The  revival  had  swept  almost  like  a  tornado  over 


^  To  one  ■who  lived  among  the  scenes  where  the  Cumberlamd  seces- 
sion began,  and  who  had  the  opportunity  of  freely  and  often  con- 
versing with  the  ministers  and  members  of  that  Church,  it  would 
be  plain  that  an  unhappy  persistency  and  severity  of  spirit  at  the 
wrong  time  forced  those  into  schism  who  were  willing  to  accept 
almost  any  concession  which  would  allow  those  still  to  remain  min- 
isters who  had  been  licensed  and  ordained.  It  is  a  fault  to  stickle 
on  unnecessary  points,  and  by  an  obstinate  adlierence  to  them  force 
schisms  in  what  ought  to  be,  and  might  be,  our  great  undivided 
Church.— W. 


196  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

the  field,  and  its  effects  were  alike  manifest  in  the 
refreshing  influence  it  exerted  and  the  desolation  it 
wronght.'  Looking  at  either  of  these  alone,  we  might 
fail  to  do  justice  to  the  other.  Infidelity  was  laid  pros- 
trate; but  churches  were  rent  in  sunder.  The  dead- 
ness  and  lethargy  of  religion  were  broken  up;  but 
Stoneites,  Shakers,  and  the  Cumberland  schism  sprang 
up  out  of  the  chaos. 

The  bewildered  were  drifted  on  with  the  eun-ent  that 
swept  them  into  fanatical  excess;  while  the  sanguine 
were  plunged  by  excitement  into  en*or  and  folly.  The 
Shakers  drew  off  hundreds  with  them.  The  Stoneites 
prepared  the  way  for  Campbell.  Elder  Holmes  gathered 
a  band  of  pilgrims  and  started  ixi  quest  of  the  Holy 
Land,  only,  however,  to   wander  into  the  wilderness 

I  In  order  to  do  full  justice  to  the  merits  of  the  revival,  the  state 
of  society  in  the  region  where  it  commenced  should  be  taken  into 
consideration.  One  of  McGready's  congregations  was  only  three 
miles  from  the  residence  of  Peter  Cartwright's  father;  and  the  son 
had  ample  opportunities  to  observe  the  facts  which  he  has  narrated 
in  his  Autobiography.  He  says,  "Logan  county  (Ky.),  when  my 
father  moved  to  it  (1793),  was  called  'Rogues'  Harbor.'  Here 
many  refugees  from  almost  all  parts  of  the  Union  fled  to  escape 
punishment  or  justice ;  for,  although  there  was  law,  yet  it  could 
not  be  executed,  and  it  was  a  desperate  state  of  society.  Murderers, 
horse-thieves,  highway-robbers,  and  counterfeiters  fled  here,  until 
they  combined  and  actually  formed  a  majority."  A  battle  with 
guns,  pistols,  dirks,  knives,  and  clubs  took  place  between  the 
"Rogues"  and  the  "Regulators,"  and  the  latter  were  defeated. 
One  of  the  "  Rogues"  who  fled  thither  was  an  apostate  Methodist 
minister  from  Georgia.  He  "fell  from  grace,"  broke  the  laws, 
shot  the  slieriff,  and  fled  to  "Rogues'  Plarbor." 

Cartwright  also  confiims  the  statement  of  the  historian  of  the 
Cumberland  Presbyterians.  "These  [Presbyterian]  old  preachers 
licensed  a  great  many  young  men  to  preach,  contrary  to  their  Con- 
fession of  Faith.  In  the  revival,  almost  to  a  man,  they  gave  up 
these  points  of  High  Calvinism,  and  preached  a  free  salvation  to  all 
mankind." 


KENTUCKY,    1S00-1S15.  JB^ 

and  to  die — to  the  dismay  of  his  deluded  followers — on 
an  island  of  the  Mississippi.  Elder  Farnum,  pretending 
to  immediate  inspiration,  headed  the  sect  of  the 
"Screaming  Children."  Other  isms,  strange  as  human 
fantasy  could  devise,  sprang  up  to  mislead  and  dupe 
the  ignorant,  till  even  the  grossest  denial  of  funda- 
mental truth  was  covered  hy  the  claim  to  a  divine 
sanction.  Some  of  those  who  had  been  led  astray  from, 
the  Presbj'terian  Church  at  last,  like  Thomjison  and 
Marshall,  saw  their  error,  and  returned.  Others,  like 
McXemar,  Dunlavy,  Houston,  and  Rankin,  were  only 
dazzled  by  the  "  clearer  light"  into  which  they  believed 
they  had  emerged,  and  became  thenceforth  identified 
with  the  errorists  whom  they  aspired  to  lead  or  defend. 

Meanwhile,  the  Synod  of  Kentucky,  in  spite  of  all 
the  embarrassments  and  conflicts  through  which  it  had 
been  called  to  pass,  was  making  steady  progress.  In 
1812,  the  Presbytery  of  West  Tennessee  was  formed.  In 
1814,  three  new  Presbyteries — Louisville,  Mississippi, 
and  Shiloh — were  erected.  The  first  was  formed  by  a 
division  of  Transylvania;  the  second  covered  a  portion 
of  Western  Tennessee;  while  the  last  was  composed  in 
part  of  churches  set  off  from  the  Presbytery  of  Muh- 
lenburg.  U])on  the  erection  of  the  Synod  of  Tennessee, 
in  1817,  Shiloh  and  Mississippi  were  united  with  it.  Of 
the  three,  the  Presbytery  of  Louisville  alone  remained 
in  connection  with  the  Synod  of  Kentucky.  At  the 
same  time,  the  dividing  line  between  the  Sj^nod  of  Ohio 
and  Kentucky  was  changed  by  the  Assembly  so  as  to  • 
include  within  the  bounds  of  the  latter  so  much  of  the 
former  as  lay  within  the  State  of  Indiana,  west  of  a  line 
drawn  due  north  from  the  mouth  of  Kentucky  Eiver. 

Through  great  difficulties  and  opposition  this  pro- 
gress had  been  attained.  The  defection  of  Thomas  B. 
Craighead  to  Pelagian,  if  not  rationalistic,  views  was 
sorely  felt.     The  earliest  publication  of  his  sentiments 

17* 


198  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

was  a  sermon  before  the  Sj'nod  in  1806.  But  previously 
to  this  he  had  been  ai'raigned  before  Synod  for  suspi- 
cion of  unsoundness  in  doctrine.  His  answers,  although 
not  perfectly  satisfactory,  had  screened  him  from  cen- 
sure; but  in  his  sermon  he  took  positions  flatl}'  opposed 
to  the  Confession  of  Faith.  He  railed  at  some  of  its  dis- 
tinctive doctrines,  held  that  the  Spirit  in  the  word  is 
the  sole  cause  of  faith  and  sanctification,  that  believing 
is  an  intellectual  and  not  a  moral  act,  that  the  testimony 
and  not  the  disposition  to  believe  is  supplied  from 
heaven ;  nor  did  he  fail  to  heap  ridicule  on  the  idea  of 
praying  for  faith,  introducing  in  the  appendix  to  his 
sermon  the  prayer  of  a  Necessitarian,  intended  to  cari- 
cature the  views  of  Edwards  on  the  Will,  and  of  Miller, 
as  presented  in  his  '•  Retrosi^ect  of  the  Eighteenth  Cen- 
tury." 

Thus  boldly  were  his  positions  taken.  The  Synod 
could  not  ignore  the  errors  which  were  thus  broached, 
and  for  several  years  the  agitation  which  they  pro- 
duced was  kept  up.  Dr.  J.  P.  Campbell  took  up  his 
pen  to  controvert  them,  and  not  without  effect.  He 
admitted  Craighead's  eloquence,  but  unsparingly  ex- 
posed his  errors.  "You  are  no  Locke,"  said  he;  "you 
are  no  Edwards;  you  are  no  Butler;  but  3-ou  are  capable 
of  being,  what  I  should  covet  a  thousand  times  more,  a 
Massillon  or  a  Bridaine.  No,  sir  !  You  have  too  much 
fire,  too  much  velocity,  too  much  impatience,  for  meta- 
physics. Y''ou  can  manage  a  metaphor  infinitely  better 
than  a  syllogism.  Oh,  what  might  you  not  be,  under 
Buch  circumstances  as  I  could  wish  !" 

Dr.  Campbell's  pamphlet  had  a  prodigious  effect.  It 
was  attractive  in  style,  clear  and  vigorous  in  logic,  and 
extensively  circulated.  Craighead  attempted  a  reply, 
but  its  feebleness  scarcely  challenged  the  annihilating 
blow  which  was  again  dealt  out  by  Dr.  Campbell.  In 
1810,  Craighead  was  suspended  by  Synod,  and,  as  he 


KENTUCKY,  1800-^1815.  199 

continued  to  preach,  he  was  in  the  following  year  de- 
posed. Successive  attempts  were  made  to  secure  his 
restoration,  but  they  failed  until  in  1824,  only  a  short 
time  previous  to  his  decease.  We  may  trace,  doubtless, 
to  his  influence  something  of  the  evils  which  were  felt 
by  the  churches  when,  a  lew  years  subsequently,  the  Eev. 
Dr.  Holley,  with  his  Unitarian  S3-nipathies,  was  elevated 
to  the  Presidency  of  Transylvania  University. 

Upon  the  disorders  of  the  revival,  the  enthusiasm  of 
the  New-Lights  or  Stoneites,  the  success  of  the  Shakers, 
the  Cumberland  scliism.  and  the  errors  of  Craighead, 
supervened  the  troubles  and  excitements  of  the  second 
war  with  England.  Kcntuck}'  was  rent  and  torn  by 
the  strife  of  parties.  The  popular  mind  was  convulsed 
by  political  dissension.  The  people,  with  the  exception 
of  a  small  minorit}-,  were  enthusiastically  in  favor  of 
the  war.  Kentucky  eagerl}'  contributed  volunteers  for 
Harrison  in  the  West  and  Jackson  in  the  South.  The 
adjoining  territories  were  richly  saturated  with  her 
noblest  blood. 

In  the  dreadful  strife  Kentucky  bore  her  full  share. 
All  along  her  frontiers  echoed  the  terrific  war-whoop. 
The  darkness  of  the  night  was  illuminated  by  the  flames 
of  burning  cabins.  The  horrors  of  Indian  warfare  were 
brought  in  fearful  proximity  to  the  border  settlements. 
Man}^  were  called  to  mourn  sad  bereavements  as  well 
as  other  bitter  calamities.  A  son  of  Dr.  Blythe  was 
tomahawked,  standing  and  unresisting,  by  a  savage  that 
had  taken  him  a  prisoner.  Scarcely  less  merciless  was 
the  fate  of  hundreds  of  others. 

The  unsettling,  disorganizing,  and  demoralizing  eff*ect8 
of  the  war  were  sadly  felt  throughout  the  entire  region. 
Nor  did  they  at  once  pass  away  with  the  return  of 
peace.  Mutual  estrangements  and  recriminations  di- 
vided pastors  and  people,  churches  and  congregations. 
A  minister  who  was  known  to  maintain  the  expediency 


200  HISTORY   OF   PRESBYTERIANISM. 

or  the  inexpediency  of  the  war  was  unacceptable — even 
though  silent  on  the  subject  in  the  pulpit — to  those 
whose  views  were  known  to  differ  from  his  own.  The 
alienation  that  occurred  between  William  L.  McCalla 
and  Dr.  Blythe  is  an  illustration  of  the  sad  prevalence 
of  political  feeling.  The  peace  of  1815  did  not  bring 
peace  to  the  troublous  elements  of  the  Kentucky 
churches. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

TENNESSEE,    lSOO-1815. 


At  the  commencement  of  the  present  century,  East- 
ern Tennessee  was  divided  between  the  two  Presby- 
teries of  Abingdon  and  Union,  both  connected  with 
the  Synod  of  the  Carolinas.  The  Presbytery  of  Abing- 
don had  been  erected  at  the  time  of  the  formation  of 
the  General  Assembly,  and  consisted  of  seven  mem- 
bers. In  1796,  the  Hopkinsian  views  of  one  of  its 
number,  Hezckiah  Balch,  combined  with  his  own  in- 
discretions, had  given  great  offence,  and  produced  no 
little  excitement  within  the  bounds  of  the  Presbytery. 
In  consequence  of  this  dissatisfaction,  a  majority  of  the 
members  withdrew  and  formed  the  Independent  Pres- 
bytery of  Abingdon.  This  action  was  condemned  by 
the  Synod;  and  upon  the  submission  of  the  withdraw- 
ing members,  the  old  Presbytery  of  Abingdon  was  con- 
stituted as  before.  But  in  1797  the  Presbytery  peti- 
tioned for  a  division,  and  Union  Presbytery  was  erected 
out  of  it  by  setting  off  as  members  of  the  new  body 
Hezekiah  Balch,  John  Cossan,  Samuel  Carrick,  Robert 
Henderson,  and  Gideon  Blackburn.  The  members  of 
the  old  Presbytery  who  stiil  continued  in  connection 


TENNESSEE,    1800-1815.  201 

■with  it  were  Charles  Ciimmings,  Samuel  Doaii,  Jacob 
Lake,  and  James  Balch. 

In  1799,  the  Presbj-tery  of  Greenville  began  its  brief 
existence.  It  numbered  but  three  ministers, — Hezekiah 
Baleh,  John  Gossan,  and  George  Newton.  It  was  after- 
ward joined  by  Samuel  Davis  and  Stephen  Bovelle  ; 
but  in  1804,  at  the  request  of  its  members,  the  Presby- 
tery was  dissolved, — George  Newton  and  Samuel  Davis 
uniting  Avith  the  Presbytery  of  Concord,  Hezekiah 
Balch  and  John  Cossan  with  the  Presbytery  of  Union, 
and  Stephen  Bovelle  with  the  Presbytery  of  West  Lex- 
ington in  Kentuck3^ 

In  1800,  Samuel  Doak,  at  Little  Limestone  in  Wash- 
ington county,  was  preaching  to  the  "  Salem  Congrega- 
tion," and  conducting  under  promising  auspices  his 
feeble  institution  now  known  as  Washington  College. 
Hezekiah  Balch,  preaching  at  Harmony,  was  indefati- 
gable in  promoting  the  interests  of  Greenville  College, 
in  whose  behalf,  in  1805,  he  secured  the  services  of 
Eev.  Charles  Coffin.  George  Newton  was  laboring  at 
Swananoa  and  Pimm's  Creek.  Eobert  Henderson  had 
charge  of  the  churches  of  Westminster  and  Hopewell. 
Gideon  Blackburn  was  laboring  at  Maryville,  perform- 
ing much  itinerant  missionar}'  labor  and  devising  a 
plan  for  carrying  the  gospel  to  the  Cherokee  Indians. 
Samuel  G.  Ilamsey,  whose  incessant  efforts  mainlj-  in 
connection  with  Grassy  Valley  congregation  had  ex- 
hausted his  strength,  was  laid  by  from  active  service. 
Samuel  Carrick,  elected  to  the  Presidency  of  Blount 
College,  was  discharging  the  duties  of  this  station  and 
preaching  statedly  to  the  church  at  Knoxville. 

The  revival  at  the  beginning  of  the  present  century, 
which  commenced  and  was  most  remarkable  in  Ken- 
tucky, and  which  extended  largel}^  over  the  entire 
countiy,  was  felt  also  to  some  extent  in  Eastern  Ten- 
nessee.    The  labors  of  Blackburn  and  Henderson  were 


202  HISTORY    or    TRESBYTERIANISM. 

greatly  blessed.  The  influence  of  these  men  was  ex- 
tensively and  powerfully  felt,  and  the  social  and  moral 
condition  of  the  people  was  greatly  and  beneficently- 
changed. 

Blackburn  had  labored  in  connection  with  the  con- 
gregations of  New  Providence  (JMai-yville)  and  Eiisebia 
since  April,  1794,^  Something  of  a  revival  prevailed 
shortly  after  his  settlement  j  but  in  1798  and  1799  his 
labors  were  attended  with  the  least  success.  JSTo  wave 
of  the  Kentucky  revival  had  yet  reached  his  congrega- 
tions. Christians  were  cold  and  indifferent;  few  serious 
imi^ressions  seemed  to  be  made;  the  youth  became 
more  dissolute,  and  levity  and  dissipation  were  alarm- 
ingly prevalent.  But  in  April,  1800,  a  striking  change 
tooic  place.  A  general  seriousness  seemed  to  over- 
spread the  community  The  Sabbath  assemblies,  large 
before,  were  now  crowded.  Several  persons  seemed  to 
be  deeply  impressed.  In  May,  the  semi-annual  admin- 
istration of  the  sacrament  took  place,  and  impressions 
were  deej^ened  A  society  for  prayer  and  religious 
conversation  was  instituted,  and  was  followed  by  happy 
results.  A  monthly  lecture  for  children  was  appointed, 
which  was  signally  blessed.  At  this  juncture  the  first 
number  of  the  "  New  York  Missionary  Magazine"  came 
into  the  hands  of  the  pastor.  He  read  to  his  people 
the  revival  and  missionarj'  intelligence,  and  continued 
to  do  so  as  successive  numbers  arrived.'-^  It  proved  '•  a 
great  means  of  awakening  the  thoughtless  and  ani- 
mating and  reviving  the  pious."  The  revival  continued 
with  a  steady  jjrogress,  free  frum  enthusiasm  or  ex- 
travagance, till  the  pastor's  house  "  was  almost  con- 
stantly crowded"  with  anxious  inquirers.  The  next 
season  of  communion  was  a  memorable  one.  A  large 
number  were  received  to  the  church,  and  more   thnn 

1  New  York  .Miss.  Mag.,  ii.  238. 

2  He  subscribed  for  fifty  copies  of  it. 


TENNESSEE,  1800-1815.  203 

three  hundred  and  fifty  participated  in  the  ordinance. 
'■  It  appoiired,"  says  Blackburn,  "  like  the  gate  of  heaven. 
The  assembly  was  melted  into  tears;  solemnity,  weep- 
ing, and  jo}'  appeared  in  the  audience." 

In  1799,  Joseph  Bullen  Avas  sent  out  by  the  New 
York  Missionary  Society  to  labor  among  the  Indians 
of  the  Southwest,  and,  in  liis  journeys  to  and  from  his 
tield  of  labor,  passed  through  the  place  where  Black- 
hurn  was  settled.  We  can  readily  believe  that  the  two 
men,  congenial  in  spirit,  conversed  together  in  regard 
to  the  missionar}'  work  in  which  one  was  engaged,  and 
w^e  know  that  shortly  after,  Blackburn's  purpose  was 
formed  to  establish  a  mission  among  the  Cherokees. 

Yet  the  subject  was  one  already  familiar  to  him. 
The  tinder  was  ready  for  the  kindling  spark  of  Bulleu's 
zeaL  Blackburn  had  accompanied  the  hostile  expedi- 
tions sent  out  against  the  Cherokees,  and,  while  he 
sought  to  guard  the  youth  of  his  flock  from  the  vices 
of  military  life,  was  led  to  inquire  into  the  causes  of 
their  savage  and  wretched  state.  '■  Some  cheering 
rays  of  hope  would  flasli"  on  his  mind  when  he  "  re- 
flected that  they  were  of  the  same  race  with  ourselves."^ 
More  and  more  the  sul)ject  took  possession  of  his  mind. 
He  prayed  over  it.  He  asked  what  could  be  done.  At 
this  juncture,  the  tide  of  missionary  feeling  which  had 
been  felt  at  the  East  had  crossed  the  AUeghanies  ;  and 
in  1799  he  introduced  the  subject  to  the  Presbytery  of 
Union,  of  which  he  was  a  member.  The  Presbytery 
could  onl}'  find  ''  eml)arrassing  difiicultics"  in  the  way. 
The  scareity  of  money  and  the  poverty  of  the  people 
seemed  to  present  insujjerable  barriers  to  efi'ort.  But 
Blackl)urn  would  not  thus  he  disheartened.  In  1803 
he  was  chosen  commissioner  to  the  General  Assembly. 
He  went  to  it  with  a  paper  in  his  pocket,  containing 

1  Blackburn's  Letters  to  Tr.  Morse,  in  the  "  P.anoplist,"  180o-07. 


204  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

the  outlines  of  a  plan  for  the  education  of  heathen  chil- 
dren. A  petition  for  supplies  for  frontier  settlements 
came  before  the  body,  in  which  the  Cherokee  nation 
was  presented  as  a  field  for  missionary  service.  Black- 
burn appeared  before  the  committee  to  which  it  was 
referred,  and  secured  an  appropriation  of  two  hundred 
dollars  for  the  support  of  a  mission  and  his  own  em- 
ployment on  the  service  for  two  months.  The  As- 
sembly recommended  the  object;  and  he  collected  more 
than  four  hundred  dollars  more  toward  it  on  his  return 
to  Tennessee. 

This  was  not  all.  Indefatigable  in  his  purpose,  he 
enlisted  the  interest  of  the  Indian  agents  of  the  General 
Government  in  the  prosecution  of  his  plan.  The  Pre- 
sident and  Secretary  of  War  expi-essed  their  concur- 
rence in  his  design,  and  directed  Colonel  Meigs  to 
facilitate  it.  In  Ootobcr.  a  council  of  two  thousand  In- 
dians was  assembled,  ai>d  the  missionary  explained  to 
them  his  purpose.  After  some  delay  on  their  part,  it 
was  approved,  and  early  in  1804  the  mission  was  com- 
menced. By  unwearied  exertion  and  self-denial,  and 
by  encroaching  severely  upon  his  own  scanty  means, 
Blackburn  was  able  to  continue  liis  operations  till  the 
spring  of  1806.  He  then  on  a  vSouthern  tour  collected 
fifteen  luindrcd  dulhirs  for  his  enterprise,  and  in  the 
succeeding  year,  on  a  journey  to  the  North,  secured 
more  than  four  thousand  dollars.  This  eifort  is  the 
more  remarkable  as  the  foundation  of  the  Cherokee 
mission,  and  as  conducted  under  the  auspices  of  no 
society, — an  instance  of  individual  enterprise,  except 
v.H  sanctioned  and  commended  by  the  General  As- 
sembly. 

Of  the  new  laborers  who  soon  commenced  their 
career  in  this  field,  the  most  eminent  were  Coffin,  An- 
derson, and  Stephenson.  Charles  Coffin  was  a  native 
of  Newburyport,  Mass.    Precocious  in  intellect,  ardent 


TENiNESSEE,    1S00-1S15.  205 

in  his  iliirst  for  knowledge,  and  from  his  earliest  years 
unexceptionable  in  moral  conduct,  he  gave  promise 
of  the  eminence  to  which  he  afterward  attained.  At 
the  age  of  fourteen  (^1789)  he  entered  Harvard  College, 
where  he  gained  a  high  reputation  fur  scholarship  and 
deportment.  His  theological  teachers  were  Dr.  Dana, 
of  Ipswich,  and  afterward  his  own  pastor,  Dr.  Samuel 
Spring.  In  1799  he  was  licensed  to  preach  by  the 
Essex  Middle  Association,  and,  on  account  of  his  health, 
engaged  in  a  Southern  tour,  preaching  for  a  time  to 
the  feeble  Presb^'terian  congregation  at  Norfolk,  which 
met  in  the  town-hall.  He  travelled  on  horseback 
through  Virginia  and  North  Carolma  to  Greenville, 
Tenn.  In  this  region  he  preached  for  several  months, 
and  became  deeply  interested  in  the  prosperity  of 
Greenville  College.  Returning  to  the  East,  he  engaged 
in  collecting  funds  for  the  more  ample  endowment  of 
the  institution,  and  in  1804  set  out  for  his  distant  and 
future  home.  All  his  energies  were  devoted  to  the  build- 
ing up  of  the  institution  of  which  Hezekiah  Balch  was 
President,  and  of  which  Coffin  himself,  Avho  was  in  full 
sympathy  with  the  new  Hopkinsian  system  that  Balch 
embraced,  became  Vice-President.  This  post  he  held 
for  five  years,  and  upon  the  death  of  the  President  in 
1810  was  elected  as  his  successor.  He  continued  to  dis- 
charge the  duties  of  his  station  till  1827,  when  he  ac- 
cepted a  call  to  the  Presidency  of  East  Tennessee  Col- 
lege at  Knoxville.  This  post  he  held  till  failing  health 
compelled  him  to  resign  it  in  1833. 

Yet,  though  mainly  devoted  to  the  cause  of  educa- 
tion. President  Coffin  performed  much  labor  in  the 
pulpit.  For  many  years  he  supplied  the  Eogersville 
and  New  Providence  churches,  and  was  also  instru- 
mental in  building  up  the  church  of  Jonesborough, 
with  which  he  continued  to  labor  to  some  extent  till 
1820.     For  the  lai'ger  part  of  the  time  that  he  resided 


206  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

in  Greenville  he  bad  charge  of  the  Harmony  Church 
in  that  place. 

Cheerful,  sociable,  generous,  with  a  great  flow  of 
animal  spirits,  and  the  most  amiable  and  gentlemanly 
qualities,  he  was  by  no  means  lacking  in  decision  and 
independence  of  character.  He  commanded  respect 
while  he  conciliated  atiection.  His  invariable  cheerful- 
ness spread  sunshine  all  around  him.  His  benignant 
countenance,  clear  judgment,  willing  hand,  and  devoted 
piety,  combined  to  give  efficiency  to  efforts  that  by 
speech  or  act  were  as  kindlj'  directed  as  they  were 
well  timed.  His  eloquence  was  more  pathetic  than 
commanding.  Yet,  even  to  old  age,  his  intellectual 
energies  Avere  fresh  and  his  activity  scared}'  abated. 
Long  will  his  memory  live  in  the  region  in  which  he 
was  known  and  loved,  and  in  which  he  scattered  seed 
for  harvests  that  succeeding  centuries  will  reap.  His 
death  occurred  in  ISoS. 

Another  minister  of  Tennessee  whose  influence  was 
Avidely  and  deeply  felt  was  Isaac  Anderson,  associated 
early  with  Blackburn,  Henderson,  and  Eamsey  in  the 
Presbytery  of  Union.  He  was  of  Scotch-Irish  descent, 
but  a  native  of  Eock bridge  county,  Va.  His  ancestors 
had  fought  at  the  siege  of  Derry,  and  he  retained  all 
their  strong  Protestant  and  Presbyterian  sympathies. 
At  the  age  of  nineteen  he  emigrated  (1799)  with  his 
father,  a  Virginia  farmer,  to  Grassy  Valley,  Knox  county, 
Tenn.  But  already  he  had  consecrated  himself  to  the 
work  of  the  ministry.  For  several  years  he  had  studied 
with  Eev.  AYilliam  Graham  at  Liberty  Hall.  Here  his 
progress  was  rapid,  and  at  the  age  of  eighteen  he  made 
a  public  profession  of  religion.  For  some  time  he  hesi- 
tated in  i-egard  to  the  choice  of  a  profession.  The  bar 
presented  great  attractions;  but  the  views  with  which 
he  proposed  to  enter  upon  it  could  not  bear  the  search- 
ing scrutiny  of  his  own  conscience.     Surrendering  its 


TENNESSEE,  1800-1815.  20t 

inviting  prospects,  he  cheerfully  gave  himself  to  a  pre- 
paration for  the  ministrj'  of  the  gospel. 

Samuel  Carrick  was  his  first  theological  instructor. 
But  Carrick  found  his  pupil  an  overmatch  for  him  on 
some  controverted  points  of  divinit}*,  and  -vvas  by  no 
means  reluctant  to  hand  the  young  heretic  over  to 
Gideon  Blackburn,  who  had  charge  of  the  church  at 
Maryville.  Till  midnight  Blackburn  and  Anderson  sat 
discussing  together  the  New  Divinity,  till  the  latter 
felt,  as  he  afterward  confessed,  his  "head  empty  as  a 
barrel,"  and  his  "  whole  system  of  theology,"  which  he 
had  regarded  as  incontrovertible,  "completely  set  aside 
and  utterly  demolished."  After  much  study  and  prayer, 
and  after  a  considerable  period  had  elapsed,  his  mind 
settled  down  into  an  approval  of  Blackburn's  sj^stem, 
as  "sound,  scriptural,  and  true." 

In  April,  1802,  he  was  licensed  by  Union  Presby- 
tery, and  a  few  months  afterward  was  installed  jjastor 
of  Washington  Church.  With  a  scant  support  from 
his  people  he  labored  upon  his  farm,  and  extended  his 
missionary  tours  throughout  the  surrounding  counties. 
Strange,  oftentimes,  and  not  unfrequently  dishearten- 
ing, were  the  scenes  of  his  experience  ;  but  his  energy 
was  not  to  be  overcome  nor  his  self-denial  exhausted. 

In  1811,  he  succeeded  Blackburn  at  Maryville.  Here, 
more  deeply  than  ever,  he  was  impressed  with  a  sense 
of  the  wide-spread  spiritual  desolation  around  him. 
One  strong  desire  took  possession  of  his  heart.  "  Oh 
that  I  could  get  hundreds  of  young  men,  to  educate 
them  for  the  ministry!"  "We  want  more  preachers." 
So  he  spake  and  so  he  felt,  and  he  labored  with  redoubled 
energy  to  supply  the  want.  He  wrote  to  the  missionary 
societies,  representing  to  them  the  condition  of  East 
Tennessee,  beseechingly  sending  forth  the  Macedonian 
cry.  But  there  came  back  no  satisfactory  response- 
Not  discouraged,  he   resolved  to  see  what   could   bo 


208  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

accomplished  by  himself  and  by  those  around  him, 
whose  aid  and  sj'mpathy  he  could  enlist  in  the  cause. 
He  consulted  his  friends,  and,  after  mature  deliberation 
and  much  prayer,  he  resolved  to  establish  a  school  of 
the  prophets.  A  class  of  five  young  men  was  gathered, 
and  he  entered  upon  his  work.  This  was  the  com- 
mencement of  the  Southern  and  Western  Theological 
Seminary,  known  now,  under  the  act  of  incorporation, 
as  Maryville  College. 

To  facilitate  his  plans,  he  established  a  boarding-house, 
employing  a  man  to  take  charge  of  it,  and  becoming 
himself  responsible  for  supplies.  Board  Avas  to  be  a 
gratuity  to  needy  students.  With  feeble  resources  of 
his  own,  the  devoted  man  found  none  at  first  prepared 
to  help  or  to  endow  the  enterprise.  But  he  put  his 
trust  in  God ;  for  he  believed  that  he  was  doing  God's 
work.  Sometimes  as  many  as  fifteen  or  twenty  young 
men  were  to  be  provided  for,  and  he  knew  not  what  to 
do.  Yet  repeatedly  at  the  critical  moment  help  came. 
Unknown  donors  sent  repeatedly  sums  of  money. 
Friends  came  and  brought,  one  from  his  farm,  and  an- 
other from  his  merchandise,  timely  contributions.  His 
faith  was  animated,  and  his  trust  in  God  strengthened. 
Sometimes  weary  and  disheartened,  sometimes  opposed, 
often  forced  to  endure  great  self-denial,  he  yet  prose- 
cuted his  noble  work.  One  hundred  ministers,  at  least, 
were  educated  and  given  to  the  Church  through  his  in- 
strumentality. Some  still  labor  in  the  region  whose 
destitution  excited  his  commiseration.  Others  are 
scattered  in  distant  States;  and  thousands,  through  their 
ministry,  have  been  brought  into  the  Christian  fold. 

His  appearance  in  the  pulpit  was  conciliatory,  but 
dignified  and  commanding.  His  lofty  purpose  was 
stamped  upon  his  calm  and  placid  brow.  The  broad 
expanse  of  his  noble  forehead  made  no  false  impression 
of  the  strength  and  depth  of  his  intellect,  while  his 


TENNESSEE,    1800-1815.  209 

sparkling  eye,  with  its  quick  glance,  betrayed  at  once 
his  keen  perce^^tion  and  Liis  warm  sympatliies. 

As  a  teacher  he  was  patient,  devoted,  and  as  accurate 
and  thorough  as  his  multiform  and  arduous  duties  would 
allow.  An  indejjendent  thinker  himself,  he  asked  none 
to  be  his  blind  followers.  His  pupils  regarded  him  with 
respect  and  veneration  as  a  teacher,  while  they  loved 
him  as  a  friend.  A  decided  Calvinist,  he  taught  "  the 
doctrines  held  by  Edwards,  Dwight,  and  Spring,"  with 
some  of  the  peculiarities  of  Hopkins's  system.  But  the 
word  of  God  was  with  him  final  and  supreme.  "Truth 
was  his  object,  and  he  sought  to  attain  it  in  the  love 
of  it,  by  a  simple,  manly,  prayerful  searching  of  the 
Scriptures." 

As  a  preacher,  pastor,  theologian,  and  teacher,  he  was 
alike  eminent  and  above  reproach.  But  the  pulpit  was 
"  his  joy  and  throne."  "  I  have  been  in  Philadelphia, 
New  York,  and  Boston,"  said  the  late  •  Dr.  Allan,  of 
Huntsville,  "and  have  heard  their  greatest  speakers; 
I  have  been  in  London,  Liverpool,  and  Manchester, 
and  have  listened  to  the  preaching  of  their  most  dis- 
tinguished ministers;  but  Dr.  Anderson  is  the  greatest 
man  I  ever  heard."  His  labors  were  continued  down 
to  1857.1 

James  White  Stephenson,  of  Scotch-Irish  extraction, 
was  a  native  of  Virginia;  but  his  early  years  were  spent 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Waxliaw  Church,  in  Lancaster 
District,  South  Carolina.  Little  is  known  of  his  child- 
hood; but  his  education  was  probably  conducted  under 
the  direction  of  Dr.  McCaule  at  Mt.  Zion  College,  Winns- 
borough,  S.C.    For  some  years  subsequent,  he  had  charge 


1  See  a  biographical  sketch  of  Anderson  in  the  "Presbyterian 
Quarterly  Review."  In  Dr.  Ely's  "Quarterly  Theological  Review" 
of  1818  will  be  found  an  article  by  the  editor  controverting  the 
Hopkinsianism  of  Anderson,  and  replying  to  his  attack  on  the 
"Contrast." 

18* 


210  HISTORY   OF   PRE8BYTERIANISM. 

of  a  classical  school  in  the  same  neighborhood,  and  An- 
drew Jackson  was  one  of  his  pupils.  In  the  scenes  of 
the  Revolutionary  conflict  he  took  an  active  part,  and, 
after  the  close  of  the  war,  commenced  his  preparation 
for  the  ministry.  In  1789,  he  was  licensed  by  the  Pres- 
bytery of  South  Carolina,  and  shortly  after  accepted  a 
call  to  the  pastoral  charge  of  Bethel  and  Indiantown 
Churches,  in  Williamsburg  District.  Here,  in  difficult 
and  trying  circumstances,  he  was  remarkably  blessed 
in  his  ministry.  In  every  department  of  ministerial 
labor  he  was  especially  diligent,  and  his  churches  grew 
proportionally  in  numbers  and  in  spirituality.  But  at 
length  his  attention,  as  well  as  that  of  a  portion  of  his 
people,  was  directed  to  the  favorable  openings  in  the 
great  field  beyond  the  mountains,  and  they  determined 
together  to  carry  the  gospel  into  the  almost  unbroken 
wilderness.  Accompanied  by  about  twenty  families, 
Stephenson  migrated  to  Maury  county,  Tennessee,  and 
the  company  jointly  purchased  a  large  tract  of  land, 
belonging  to  the  heirs  of  General  Greene,  of  Revolu- 
tionary fame. 

In  March,  1808,  the  company  set  out  upon  their 
journey.  They  reached  the  place  of  their  destination, 
and  began  the  foundation  of  the  "  Frierson  Settlement." 
As  years  passed  by,  the  kind  and  degree  of  influence 
exerted  by  Mr.  Stephenson  upon  the  young  community 
became  more  distinctly  marked.  His  preaching  was 
solid  and  instructive,  and  sometimes  highl}^  impressive. 
His  good  sense,  consistent  life,  gravity  of  deportment, 
and  devoted  piety,  were  reflected  in  the  manners  and 
character  of  the  people.  Few  churches  in  the  State 
maintained  thenceforth  so  enviable  a  reputation,  par- 
ticularly for  the  faithful  public  and  private  instruction 
of  the  blacks.  The  pastor  poss3Ssed  in  a  high  degree 
the  missionary  spirit,  and  was  especially  intent  upon 
evangelical  labors  among  the  Indian  tribes.    Under  his 


TENNESSEE,   1800-1815.  211'- 

training  a  Christian  colony  was  established,  and  the 
tree  he  planted  was  known  by  its  fruits.  To  the  ripe 
age  of  seventy-six  years  he  continued  his  labors  among 
a  people  a  portion  of  whom  had  been  his  parochial 
charge  for  forty-two  years.  lie  died  in  1832,  in  the 
hope  and  triumph  of  a  Christian  faith. 

In  1810,  Duncan  Brown, ^  who  for  eight  years  had 
been  settled  over  the  churches  of  Hopewell  and  Aim- 
well  in  South  Carolina,  followed  Stephenson  to  Maury 
county,  within  the  bounds  of  which,  although  in  charge 
of  different  churches,  he  continued  to  reside  until  his 
death  in  1861.  For  a  time  he  labored  at  Bethesda  and 
New  Hope,  afterward  at  Bethesda,  Newport,  and  Be- 
thany, and  subsequently  at  Columbia;  although  his  mis- 
sionar}' excursions  extended  through  Middle  Tennessee 
and  Northern  Alabama.  Shortly  before  his  arrival  in 
the  Held,  Matthew  Donald  took  charge  of  Mt.  Tabor, 
Joseph  B.  Lapsley  of  Tennessee  and  Gallaher's  Creek, 
and  John  McCampbell  of  Shunem,  with  which  Wash- 
ington subsequently  formed  a  joint  charge.  A  few  yeai'S 
later  (1814)  we  find  David  Weir  pastor  of  Hopewell 
and  Westminster,  and  Thomas  II.  Nelson  of  Knox- 
ville.  At  this  time  the  Presbytery  of  Union  consisted, 
besides  Donald,  Nelson,  McCampbell,  and  Weir,  of  Ram- 
sey at  Grassy  Valley,  Anderson  at  New  Providence, 
and  Coffin  at  Harmony. 

Meanwhile  (1810)  the  Presbj'tery  of  West  Tennessee 
was  erected,  and  consisted  shortly  after  its  organization 
of  Stephenson,  in  charge  of  Zion  congregation,  with. 
Avhich  Cathie's  Creek  was  subsequently  united,  Black- 
burn in  Maury  county,  whither  he  removed  in  1810, 
although  in  the  following  year  he  took  charge  of  Nash- 


^  Dr.  Duncan  Brown  was  horn  in  Kobeson  county,  N.C.,  in  1771, 
and  studied  theology  with  Dr.  David  Caldwell.  He  labored  in 
Maury  county  as  a  missionary  and  stated  supply  for  many  years. 


212  HISTORY    OP    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

ville  and  Franklin,  Henderson  at  Columbia,  Salem,  and 
Ebenezer,  Samuel  Donnell  at  Spring  Creek,  Stone'a 
Elver,  and  Eound  Lick,  George  Newton,  John  G-illaspie 
at  Fayetteville  and  Providence,  and  Duncan  Brown. 
Previous  to  1814,  Thomas  J.  Hall  at  Murfrccsborough 
and  Jefferson,  Andrew  S.  Morrison  at  Bethsaida,  and 
Samuel  Hodge  at  Smith's  Pork,  Penuel  and  Liberty,, 
had  become  members  of  the  Presbytery.  The  vacant 
churches  Avere  Elk  Eidge,  Mars'  Hill,  Eocky  Mount, 
Double  Spring,  Elkton,  Pulaski,  Snow  Creek,  Purity, 
Cripple  Creek,  Winchester,  Hopkinsville,  Vernon,  Yel- 
low Creek,  Bethberoi,  and  Piedmont. 

The  Presbytery  of  Abingdon,  i-cduced  by  the  erection 
of  other  Presb3'teries  out  of  it,  numbered  in  1803  but 
six  ministers,  not  one  of  whom  was  a  settled  pastor. 
Dr.  Doak,  the  patriarch  of  the  body,  while  discharging 
his  duties  as  President  of  Washington  College,  labored 
also  in  the  ministr}-;  and  the  congregations  of  Bethel 
and  Timber  Eidge,  in  G-reen  county,  as  well  as  several 
in  the  county  where  he  I'osided,  were  organized  through 
his  efforts.  For  a  short  time  previous  to  1809,  his  son, 
John  W.  Doak,  was  settled  as  pastor  of  Bethel  and  Pro- 
vidence Churches.  Several  years  passed  away  before 
John  N.  Bovellc  was  settled  at  Jonesborough,  James 
Gallaher  at  Eogersville,  and  Samuel  W.  Doak  at  Green- 
ville. The  other  pastors  of  the  Presb3'tery,  previous  to 
1825,  were  Stephen  Bovelle,  Alexander  M'Ewen,  A. 
S.  Morrison,  James  Gallaher,  and  Eobert  Glenn, — all 
but  the  last  within  the  bounds  of  Virginia. 

The  Presbytery  of  Union,  till  1808  connected  with 
the  Synod  of  the  Carolinas,  was  in  that  year,  at  its  own 
request,  transferred  to  the  Synod  of  Virginia.  The 
Presbytery  of  Abingdon  had  been  in  like  manner  trans- 
ferred a  short  time  previous.  The  Presbytery  of  West 
Tennessee  stood  connected  with  the  Synod  of  Kem 
tucky.     In    1815,    the    three    Presbyteries    numbered 


THE    GENERAL    ASSExMBLY,    1S16-1825.  213 

withiii  the  bounds  of  Tennessee,  as  nearly  as  can  be 
estimated,  about  twenty-five  ministers  and  not  far  from 
sixty  congregations,  of  wbieii  one-balf,  at  least,  were 
without  jmstoral  care. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

THE    GENERAL    ASSEMBLY,   1S16-1S25. 

The  growth  of  the  Church  from  ISIG  to  1825  is  suffi- 
ciently indicated  by  the  summary  of  the  statistical 
reports  made  to  the  Assembl}'  during  this  period.  The 
minutes  of  1816 — which  give  us  the  strength  of  the 
Church  at  the  commencement  of  that  year — report  in 
connection  with  the  Assembly  forty-three  Presbj-leries. 
In  1826,  the  number  had  exactly  doubled.  Those  erected 
during  the  period  were  Shiloh  (1816);  Niagara,  Ontario, 
Bath,  Eichland,  Newton  (1817);  Portage,  St.  Lawrence 
(name  changed  to  Watertown  in  1828),  Missouri,  Otsego, 
Genesee,  Rochester,  Steubenville  (1818);  Washington, 
North  River  (1819);  Troy,  Allegheny,  Ebenezer  (1820); 
Susquehanna,  Alabama  (changed  to  South  Alabama  in 
1826),  Georgia,  Cincinnati,  Ogdensburg  (changed  to  St. 
Lawn*enee  in  1829),  (1821);  New  York  Second,  Phila- 
delphia Second,  Charleston  Union,  Athens  (1822); 
Buffalo,  Oswego,  District  of  Columbia,  Huron,  Salem 
(182.3) ;  Newark.  Elizabcthtown,i  North  Alabama,  Meck- 
lenburg, Bethel  (1824);  Cortland,  French  Broad,  Madi- 
son, Wabash  (changed  in  1830  to  Vincennes),  and  New- 
buryport  (182.5). 

The  increase  of  the  Presbyteries,  however,  fell  short 
of  the  growth  of  the  Church  in  other  respects.     The  five 

'  Newark  and  Elizabethtown  were  formed  by  a  division  of  Jersey. 


214  HISTORY    OF   PRESBYTERIANISM, 

hundred  and  forty  ^  ministers  of  1816  had  become  more 
than  eleven  hundred  and  forty  previous  to  1826;  while 
the  churches  during  the  same  period  had  risen  from 
about  nine  hundred  and  twenty  to  over  two  tliousand. 
The  increase  in  the  membership  was  much  more  marked. 
In  1816  it  had  fVillen  something  short  of  forty  thousand. 
In  1825^  it  had  reached  an  aggregate  of  over  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty-two  thousand, — an  increase  in  less 
than  ten  years  of  over  three  hundred  per  cent. 

To  explain  this  remarkable  and  altogether  unprece- 
dented growth  of  the  Church,  several  co-operative  and 
powerful  influences  must  be  taken  into  account.  Not- 
withstanding some  local  conflicts,  and  a  growing  jeal- 
ousy, in  some  quarters,  of  what  was  regarded  as  Hop- 
kinsian  error,  there  was  throughout  the  period  a  general 
harmony  of  spirit  and  effort.  The  cause  of  ministerial 
education  was  vigorously  promoted.  A  deeper  interest 
was  felt  in  behalf  of  home  as  well  as  foreign  missions. 
The  tide  of  New  England  emigration  flowed  with  almost 
unbroken  volume  into  the  channels  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church.  Accessions  from  other  ecclesiastical  bodies — 
especially  from  the  Associate  Eeformed  Church — were 
by  no  means  inconsiderable;  while  powerful  revivals 
had  extensively  prevailed  in  nearly  everj^  portion  of 
the  Church. 

A  mere  glance  at  the  list  of  the  new  Presbyteries 
noted  above  will  show  that  nearly  five-sixths  of  the 
whole  number  were  at  the  North  and  West.  The  sym- 
pathies of  the  New  England  emigrants,  scattering  abroad 
over  Central  and  Western  New  York,  Ohio,  Indiana,  and 
other  States,  scarcely  needed,  in  many  cases,  the  co- 
operative influence  of  the  Plan  of  Union  to  bring  them 
into  connection  with  Presbyterian  organizations.     Till 

1  An  approximate  estimate,  from  imperfect  reports. 
^  The  reports  of  1826  give  no  summary. 


THE    GENERAL    ASSEMBLY,    1816-1825.  215 

toward  the  close  of  the  period  no  jealousy  of  their  in- 
fluence was  manifest,  even  if  it  was  felt. 

But  the  revivals  of  the  pei'iod  produced  a  powerful 
influence,  and  resulted  in  large  accessions.  The  report 
of  181G  made  special  mention  of  those  which  had  jjrc- 
vailed  in  Philadelphia,  Bound  Brook,  Baskingridge, 
Xorristown,  Kew  York,  Albany,  and  Troy,  and  among 
the  churches  of  the  Presbyteries  of  Long  Island,  Hud- 
son, Oneida,  Onondaga,  Champlain,  Geneva,  and  Cayuga, 
as  well  as  of  Winchester,  Virginia.  In  1817,  the  report 
was  still  more  cheering.  The  Presbj'teiy  of  Jersey 
speak  of  "  Avonders  of  mercy."  Fifteen  hundred  con- 
versions were  reckoned  to  have  occurred  within  its 
bounds.  In  the  city  of  Troy  above  five  hundred  had 
been  added  to  the  different  churches.  The  Presbyteries 
of  Columbia,  Champlain,  Cayuga,  Onondaga,  Geneva, 
Grand  River,  and  ^Northumberland  had  experienced 
remarkable  visitations.  In  1818,  the  Assembly  received 
cheering  intelligence  from  the  Presbyteries  of  Cayuga, 
Champlain,  Columbia,  Jersey,  West  Lexington,  and 
Concord.  In  Cayuga  Presbytery  seventeen  of  its 
twenty-six  congregations  had  been  visited  by  the  out- 
pouring of  the  Spirit.  Six  or  eight  of  the  congregations 
of  Jersey  Presbytery  had  gathered  in  the  harvest  of 
revivals;  and  the  character  of  all  these  revivals  had 
been  "  such  as  to  prove  them  divine." 

In  1819,  revivals  were  reported  as  having  prevailed 
to  a  considerable  extent  in  Northern,  Central,  and 
Western  New  York,  and  within  the  bounds  of  Grand 
River  Presbytery  in  Ohio,  as  well  as  in  Northern  New 
Jersey  and  Eastern  Tennessee.  In  1820,  between 
seventy  and  eighty  churches  were  found  to  have  been 
visited  b}^  special  seasons  of  refreshing, — fifteen  of  these 
in  contiguous  congregations  under  the  care  of  Grand 
River  Presbytery,  a  large  number  in  Central  and  North- 
ern New  York,  and  in  the  northern  part  of  New  Jersey. 


216  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

In  1821,  reports  of  revivals  were  received  from  the 
Presbyteries  of  Eochester,  Ontario,  Cayuga,  Onondaga, 
Troy,  Albany,  Columbia,  Hudson,  New  York,  Jersey, 
Newton,  Pbiladelplaia,  Grand  River,  Portage,  Lexing- 
ton, and  Lancaster.  The  accession  to  the  churches  of 
the  Presbytery  of  Albany  had  been  nearly  fourteen 
hundred,  to  those  of  Hudson  over  one  thousand;  while 
the  aggregate  within  the  bounds  of  the  Church  had 
been  over  nine  thousand. 

In  1822,  the  Assembly  made  grateful  mention  of  re- 
vivals not  only  in  Central  and  Northern  New  York, 
but  in  the  Presb3'terie8  of  Troy,  New  York,  Abingdon, 
Orange,  Fayetteville,  Concord,  Philadelphia,  Eichmond, 
and  Wilmington,  as  w^ell  as  those  of  the  Synod  of  Pitts- 
burg. In  1823,  nearly  thirty  Presbyteries  reported 
revivals  within  their  bounds, — a  larger  proportion  than 
before  in  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  and  Georgia.  In 
1824,  the  list  of  revivals  was  much  reduced;  but  in  1825 
more  than  twenty  Presb3'teries  had  been  specially 
favored  by  the  outpouring  of  the  S]>irit,  all  of  them — 
with  the  exception  of  Lexington  and  Abingdon  in  Vir- 
ginia, Eedstono  in  "Western  Pennsylvania,  Grand  Eiver 
and  Portage  in  Ohio — within  the  bounds  of  New  York 
or  Northern  New  Jersey.  During  the  period  of  ten 
years,  not  less  than  fifty  thousand  must  have  been 
added  to  the  Church,  as  the  fruits  of  the  revivals 
which  had  been  enjoyed. 

In  1816,  the  style  of  the  Assembly's  missionar}^  com- 
mittee was  changed  to  that  of  the  "Board  of  Missions," 
while  its  membership  was  increased  and  its  powers 
were  enlarged.  The  persons  constituting  it  w^ere  to 
be  annually  elected  by  the  Assembly,  but  they  were 
authorized  to  appoint  and  remunerate  missionaries  at 
their  discretion.  A  project  for  enlisting  the  Church,  as 
an  ecclesiastical  body,  in  the  cause  of  foreign  missions, 
was  laid  aside  in   anticipation  of  the  formation  of  a 


THE    GENERAL    ASSEMBLY.    1S16-1825,  217 

society  so  organized  as  to  draw  into  sympathj'  with  it 
the  Reformed  Dutch  and  Associate  Eefornied  Churches. 
The  outlines  of  a  constitution  for  this  society  were  con- 
sidered at  a  meeting  composed  of  committees  from  two 
of  the  three  bodies  whom  it  was  sought  to  ally  together, 
at  New  York,  in  October,  1816.  In  May,  1817,  the  con- 
stitution was  approved  by  the  committees  of  the  three 
bodies,  and  soon  after  received  the  sanction  of  their 
highest  judicatories. 

The  society,  which  was  formed  July  28,  1817,  took 
the  name  of  the  United  Foreign  Missionary  Society. 
To  it  were  transferred  the  funds  and  stations  of  the 
New  York  Missionary  Society,  while  the  Northern  Mis- 
sionary Society,  as  well  as  other  organizations  and 
individual  congregations,  became  its  auxiliaries.  Its 
receipts  for  the  tirst  year  were  two  thousand  five  hun- 
dred and  seventy-eight  dollars,  for  the  second  nearly 
three  thousand  four  hundred  dollars,  and  in  1821  they 
amounted  to  over  fifteen  thousand  dollars.  Its  mis- 
sionaries— mainly  among  the  Indian  tribes  of  our  own 
country- — were  largely  from  the  Presbyterian  Church  ; 
and  among  them  we  meet  the  names  of  Chapman,  Vaill, 
Eequa,  Pixley,  Jones,  Sprague,  Newton,  Crane,  Harris, 
Kingsbury,  Goodall,  \Yilliams,  and  Wright. 

The  formation  of  this  society  and  the  co-ojDcration 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  its  support  were  fully  in 
accordance  with  the  spirit  of  the  Assembl}^  The  form- 
ation of  the  American  Bible  Society — which  occurred 
but  a  few  days  before  the  Assembly  (1816)  met — was 
hailed  "  with  gratification  and  heartfelt  pleasure."  The 
cause  of  tract-distribution  as  well  as  of  Sunday-schools 
continued  year  after  year  to  receive  favorable  notice 
and  commendation.  Thepastoralletter  of  the  Assembly 
(1817)  sufficiently  indicates  the  attitude  which  it  was 
disposed  to  assume  toward  voluntary  missionary  organ- 
izations.    "  Embrace  every  opportunity,  to  the  extent 

Vol.   II.— 19 


218  HISTORY    OF    rRKSCYTLKIANISM. 

of  the  ability  which  God  has  given  you,  to  form  and 
vigorousljr  support  missionary  associations,  Bible  soci- 
eties, plans  for  the  distribution  of  religious  tracts, 
and  exertions  for  extending  the  benefits  of  knowledge, 
and  especially  of  spiritual  knowledge,  to  all  ages  and 
classes  of  persons  around  you.  ...  In  these  hallowed 
labors  let  none  refuse  to  join.  .  .  .  Let  your  plans  of 
co-operation  .  .  .  embrace  every  class  and  age.  .  .  .  We 
are  persuaded  that  all  those  periods  and  Churches  which 
have  been  favored  with  special  revivals  of  religion  have 
been  also  distinguished  by  visible  union  and  concert  in 
prayer.  We  entreat  you,  brethren,  to  cherish  this  union 
and  concert."  While  urging  a  spirit  of  harmony  with 
all  denominations  of  Christians,  the  Assemblj^  does  liot 
fail  to  commend  the  standards  of  the  Church;  yet,  while 
holding  fast  the  form  of  sound  words,  it  warns  against 
the  indulgence  of  a  pernicious  spirit  of  controversy. 
"  It  is  never  necessary  to  sacrifice  charity  in  order  to 
maintain  faith  and  hoj^e.  That  differences  of  0])inion, 
acknowledged  on  all  hands  to  be  of  a  minor  class,  may 
and  ought  to  be  tolerated  among  those  who  are  agreed 
in  great  and  leading  views  of  divine  truth,  is  a  principle 
on  which  the  godly  have  so  long  and  so  generally  acted  * 


'  The  disposition  and  views  of  the  Assembly  during  this  period 
are  further  evinced  by  the  utterance  in  reply  to  an  application  made 
in  1824,  from  the  Tammany  Street  Church  of  Baltimore.  The  appli- 
cation, ■while  inadvertently  mentioning  names  connected  with  serious 
charges, — a  method  disapproved  by  the  Assembly  unless  prosecution 
was  intended, — was  merely  designed  to  obtain  an  expression  on  the 
importance  and  binding  force  of  the  Confession  of  Faith.  In  reply, 
the  Assembly  pronounced  confessions  of  faith  "necessary  and  ex- 
pedient," and  "absolutely  requisite  to  the  settled  peace  of  the 
Church  and  to  the  happy  and  orderly  existence  of  Christian  com- 
munion." While  disclaiming  for  the  Confession  and  standards  any 
"original  authority  independent  of  the  Scriptures,"  they  say,  "wo 
regard  them  as  a  summary  of  those  divine  truths  which  are  diffused 


THE    GENERAL    ASSEMBLY,    1816-1825,  219 

that  it  seems  unnecessary,  at  the  present  day,  to  seek 
arguments  for  its  support.  Our  fathers,  in  early  periods 
of  the  history  of  our  Church,  had  their  peculiarities  and 
diversities  of  opinion,  which  yet,  however,  did  not  pre- 
vent them  from  loving  one  another  and  cordially  acting 
together." 

Some  of  the  sentences  of  the  closing  paragraph  of 
the  pastoral  letter  had,  undoubtedly,  reference  to  the 
internal  affairs  of  the  Church.  In  New  York  and  Phila- 
delphia, "Hopkinsian"  views  had  become  matters  of  con- 
troversy. Xo  little  warmth  of  feeling  had  been  already 
elicited.  There  was  truly  some  occasion  for  the  admoni- 
tion, '' Surely  those  who  can  come  together  on  the  great 
principles  of  our  public  standards,  however  they  may 
differ  on  non-essential  points,  ought  not  to  separate,  or 
to  indulge  bitterness  and  prejudice  against  each  other." 

The  alienations  and  prejudices  to  which  reference  is 
here  made  were,  in  their  origin,  nearl}'  contemporary 
with  the  settlement  of  Eev.  (Dr.)  G.  Spring  as  pastor  of 
the  Brick  Church,  New  York.  His  father  was  reputed 
a  leading  "Ilopkinsian"  of  New  England,  and  a  volume 
of  his,  soon  after  published,  had  been  regarded  in  certain 
quarters  as  peculiarly  objectionable.  To  Dr.  John  M. 
Mason,  of  the  Associate  Eeformed  Church,  (Dr.)  J.  B. 
Romeyn,  Dr.  McLeod,  and  Dr.  Milledoler,  the  '•  New- 
Divinity"  was  especially  odious.  To  such  an  extent 
did  party  feeling  prevail,  that  the  Young  Men's  Mis- 
sionary Society  (1816),  by  a  vote  of  one  hundred  and 
sixty  to  ninety,  refused  to  employ  Eev.  (Dr.)  S.  H.  Cox 
us  a  city  missionary,  on  the  ground  of  his  theological 
views.  The  significance  of  the  rejection  was  the  more 
marked  that  Mr.  Spring — who  opposed  the  project  of 


throughout  the  sacred  volume,"  nor  could  they,  as  "a  system  of 
doctrine,"  "be  abandoned  in  our  communion  without  an  abandon- 
ment of  the  word  of  God." 


220  HISTORY    Oi'    I'RESBYTERIANISM. 

subjecting  Mr.  Cox  to  a  theological  examination — chose 
rather  to  assume  the  place  of  the  objectionable  mis- 
sionary, and  that  on  examination,  as  his  rejjresentative, 
he  was  pronounced  unsound  in  the  faith. 

Meanwhile,  the  alienation  had  developed  itself  in 
another  form.  Four  or  five  years  previous,  an  attempt 
was  made  to  brand  the  "New  Divinity"  as  heresy,  by 
the  publication  of  a  volume  entitled  "The  Contrast." 
The  work  was  prepared  by  Eev.  (Dr.)  Ezra  Stiles  Ely, 
himself  a  native  of  Connecticut,  but  at  the  time  a  resi- 
dent and  laboring  as  a  missionary  in  the  city  of  New 
York.  In  parallel  columns  it  arrayed  the  sentiments 
of  different  authors  or  systems  on  a  variety  of  theo- 
logical topics,  to  the  evident  disparagement  of  "  Hop- 
kinsianism."  It  was  regarded  as  a  challenge  by  those 
who  disclaimed  the  title  3'et  had  incui-red  the  odium 
of  the  "Hopkinsians;"  nor  was  the  man  wanting  who 
stood  prepai'ed  to  accept  it.  Samuel  Whelpley,  a  Pres- 
byterian clergyman,  who  had  taught  school  at  Norris- 
town  and  Newark,  and  who  at  about  this  juncture 
reaioved  to  New  York,  was  not  indisposed  to  vindicate 
the  character  of  those  who  were  held  up  to  theological 
odium  for  adhering  to  what  he  regarded  as  sound  doc- 
trine and  vital  truth.  Feeble  in  health,  and  already 
brought  by  disease  to  the  borders  of  the  grave,  from 
?  which  he  felt  that  he  had  but  a  brief  respite,  he  was 
possessed  of  some  of  the  rarest  gifts  of  genius,  and  of 
a  chlvalric  fearlessness  in  the  utterance  of  his  convic- 
tions. In  a  series  of  successive  numbers,  subsequently 
published  under  the  title  of  the  "Triangle,"  he  turned 
upon  those  whom  he  regarded  as  assailants,  and,  by  a 
singular  combination  of  wit,  rhetoric,  allegory,  and 
satire,  endeavored  to  expose  their  inconsistencies,  while 
he  presented  what  he  regarded  as  the  leading  features 
of  the  evangelical  system.  The  ad  captandnm  style  of 
the  work,  and  its  splendid  declamation,  sometimes  too 


THE    fii:NF,RAL    ASSEMHLY,    1S16-1825.  221 

liigh-wrought  foi'  good  taste,  as  well  as  the  boldness  of 
its  utterance  and  the  earnestness  of  its  tone, commanded 
for  it  general  attention,  and  made  it  manifest  that, 
however  •■  Hopkinsianism"  might  be  defined,  the  "Tri- 
angular Theology"  was  not  likely  to  jDrevail  without  a 
spirited  and  vigorous  opposition. 

In  Philadelphia,  the  jirejudice  against  the  "New  Di- 
vinity," already  strong,  was  not  allayed  by  the  transfer 
of  Mr.  El}'  (1813)  to  the  charge  of  the  church  from  which 
Dr.  Alexander  had  been  recently  dismissed.  A  portion 
of  the  congregation  were  strongly  opposed  to  the  author 
of  '<  The  Contrast;"  and  the  result  of  his  settlement  was 
the  division  of  the  church,  and  the  organization  of  a 
new  congregation.  By  leading  members  of  the  Pres- 
bytery of  Philadelphia  it  was  resolved  not  to  license 
students  who  were  found  to  hold  "  Hopkinsian"  tenets;* 
and  Mr.  T.  H.  Skinner,  colleague  pastor  of  the  Second 
Church,  whose  "Edwardian"  views  had  subjected  him 
to  suspicion,  was  pronounced  by  a  theological  friend 
and  associate  the  victim  of  the  "  Old  Side"  prejudices 
which  for  more  than  fifty  years  had  survived  the  union 
of  the  two  Sj'nods. 

In  1817,  the  subject  of  "  Hopkinsian"  doctrine  was 
brought  to  the  notice  of  the  Assembly  by  a  report  of 
the  committee  appointed  to  examine  the  records  of  the 
Synod  of  Philadelphia.  Exception  was  taken  in  the 
report  to  certain  parts  of  the  Synod's  pastoral  letter, 
in  which  the  several  Presbyteries  were  enjoined  to  call 
to  account  all  such  ministers  as  were  suspected  of 
embracing  "any  of  the  oj)inions  usually  called  Hop- 
kinsian." The  Synod  had  classed  together  "Arian,  So- 
cinian,  Arminian,  and  Hopkinsian  heresies,"  as  among 
"the  means  by  which  the  enemy  of  souls  would,  if  pos- 

'  Reference  is  made  to  the  cases  of  Dr.  S.  H.  Cox,  and  of  Dr. 
Howe,  of  South  Carolina. 

19* 


222  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTKRIANISM. 

sible,  deceive  the  very  elect."  The}'-  had  said,  "  May 
the  time  never  come  in  which  our  ecclesiastical  courts 
shall  determine  that  Hopkinsianism  and  the  doctrines 
of  our  Confession  of  Faith  are  the  same  thing  I"  In  a 
subsequent  paragraph,  also,  they  had  employed  language 
which  seemed  depreciatory  of  revivals,  remarking  that, 
"  if  the  thunder-storm  in  summer  excites  the  most  at- 
tention, it  is  the  continued  blessing  from  the  clouds 
which  replenishes  the  springs  and  makes  glad  the  har- 
vest of  the  husbandman." 

On  these  portions  of  the  letter  the  Assemblj-,  adopt- 
ing the  report  of  the  committee,  remarked  "that  while 
they  commend  the  zeal  of  the  Synod  in  endeavoring  to 
promote  a  strict  conformity  to  our  public  standards, — 
a  conformity  which  cannot  but  be  viewed  as  of  vital 
importance  to  the  purity  and  prosperity  of  the  Church, 
— the  Assembly  regret  that  zeal  on  this  subject  should 
be  manifested  in  such  a  manner  as  to  be  offensive  to 
other  denominations,  and  especially  to  inti-oduce  a 
spirit  of  jealousy  and  suspicion  against  ministers  in 
good  standing,  which  is  calculated  to  disturb  the  peace 
and  harmony  of  our  ecclesiastical  judicatories.  And 
whereas  a  passage  in  the  pastoral  letter  above  referred 
to  ajDpears  capable  of  being  construed  as  expressing 
an  opinion  unfavorable  to  revivals  of  religion,  the  As- 
"sembly  would  only  observe  that  they  cannot  believe 
that  that  venerable  Synod  could  have  intended  to  ex- 
press such  an  opinion."' 

1  The  Anti-IIopkinsian  zeal  of  this  period,  rebuked  by  the  As- 
sembly, does  not  appear  to  have  found  much  sympathy  outside  of 
the  Presbytery  of  New  York  and  the  Synod  of  Philadelphia. 
"Princeton  orthodoxy"  at  this  time  could  not  have  savored  of  a 
"rigid  Calvinism."  Dr.  Samuel  Stanhope  Smith,  who  was  Theolo- 
gical Professor  before  the  seminary  was  established,  says  (1815)  of 
the  volume  which  contained  his  lectures  to  the  theological  students, 
"The  principles  of  this  system,  though  a  moderate  Calvinism  reigns 


THE    GENERAL    ASSEMBLY,    1S16-1825.  223 

Against  this  action  of  the  Assembly  two  several  pro- 
tests were  presented  by  members  of  the  Sj'nod, — the 
first  signed  by  seven  and  the  second  by  five  members. 
The  signers  of  the  first,  among  other  things,  protest 
against  the  resolution  of  the  Assembly,  because,  say 
they,  "We  do  not  believe  that  the  doctrines  called 
Hopkinsian  are  innocent,  or  that  they  are  so  trivial  as 
not  to  require  the  interference  of  the  Synod  in  the 
manner  adojDted  in  their  records  to  prevent  their 
propagation."  They  protested  against  it,  also,  for 
its  apparent  contradiction  to  previous  decisions  of  the 
Assembly  in  the  cases  of  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Davis  and 
Balch. 

The  second  protest  was  substantially  the  same  with 
the  first.  It  objected  to  the  resolution  of  the  Assembly 
as  assuming  "that  the  distinguishing  doctrines  of  the 
Hopkinsian  system  are  either  consonant  with  our 
public  standards,  or  are  of  so  trivial  a  nature  that  their 
departure  from  strict  conformity  ought  not  to  be  re- 


in two  or  three  chapters,  are  such,  I  persuade  myself,  as  will  meet 
the  approbation  of  those  gentlemen  who  accord  with  the  'Christian 
Observer.'"  It  was  after  Dr.  Green  had  removed  to  Princeton  that 
Dr.  Smith  said,  "  Dr.  Green  has  entirely  disused  my  lectures  on  the 
Evidences  of  Religion  and  on  Moral  Philosophy,  on  the  plea  that 
they  are  not  exactly  conformed  to  his  notions  on  the  subject  of 
divine  grace."  Shortly  before  Dr.  Kollock  was  settled  as  pastor 
at  Princeton  and  Professor  of  Theology  in  the  College  (1803),  he 
wrote  to  (Bishop)  Hobart,  "  I  have  found  myself  obliged  to  re- 
nounce the  sentiments  of  the  rigid  Calvinists.  The  doctrine  of 
imputation,  as  held  by  Ihem,  appears  to  me  inconsistent  with  the 
justice  of  God.  My  mind  revolts  from  the  idea,  &c."  When  Dr. 
Spring,  in  1810,  was  received  by  the  Presbytery  of  New  York,  he 
read  a  sermon  "  as  strong  on  natural  ab^ity"  as  Hopkins  or  Smalley 
could  have  preached.  It  excited  among  some  members  suspicions 
of  his  theology;  but  Dr  Miller,  of  Wall  Street, — removed  to  Prince- 
ton in  1813, — rose,  and  said,  "Gentlemen,  you  may  condemn  tlie 
views  of  that  young  man;  but  in  condemning  him  you  condemn 
me." 


224  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

garded  as  matter  of  censure;  Avhereas  we  suppose  them 
to  be  essentially  conti-adictorj'  to  sound  orthodox  doe 
trines,  and,  consequently,  the  preaching  of  them  to  be  a 
violation  of  ordination-vows." 

The  language  of  the  Synod  and  of  the  jjrotestants 
manifests  a  considerable  degree  of  feeling  in  reference 
to  the  imputed  errors.  In  Philadelphia,  especially,  a 
strong  prejudice  existed  against  what  were  regarded 
as  New  England  innovations  or  perversions  of  ortho- 
dox doctrine.  The  Presbytery  w^as,  in  fact,  divided 
within  itself;  and  but  for  the  influence  of  Dr.  Wilson, 
of  the  First  Church,  the  old  prejudices  of  the  i)revious 
century  might  have  been  so  kindled  as  to  work  out 
kindred  results  on  the  field  they  had  once  ravaged.^ 
The  wisdom  of  th.e  Assembly,  calmly  but  firmly  im- 
posing a  check,  at  least  retarded  their  mischievous 
development. 

The  cause  of  ministerial  education  received  during 
this  period  a  fair  share  of  the  attention  of  the  Church. 
The  annual  reports  made  by  the  Presbyteries  to  the 
Assembly  showed,  for  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
period,  a  steadily  increasing  and  healthful  interest  in 
the  selection  and  training  of  young  men  for  the  min- 
istry. In  1816  the  number  of  licentiates  reported  was 
sixty;  in  1825  it  was  one  hundred  and  sevent^'-six, 
while  the  number  of  candidates  was  one  hundred  and 
ninety-six.  Education  societies  had  been  formed  for 
several  years  previous,  both  in  New  England  and 
within  the  bounds  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  Their 
formation  was  hastened  by  the  imperative  necessity  of 
providing  pastors  for  the  churches  which  were  rapidly 
springing  up  on  the  Western  field.  From  every  por- 
tion of  the  newly-settled  regions  the  great  demand  was 
for  ministers  and  missionaries.   In  1822,  the  Presbytery 

'  For  a  full  nccount  of  the  matter,  see  Patterson's  Pamphlet,  1836. 


THE   GENERAL   ASSEMBLY,    1816-1825.  225 

of  Niagara,  with  twenty-six  congregations,  bad  but 
four  pastors;  Genesee,  with  nineteen,  had  but  two; 
Bath  was  equally  destitute;  while  there  were  but  six 
ministers  in  as  many  adjoining  counties.  In  the  bounds 
of  Champlain  Presbytery  many  towns  were  destitute 
of  any  religious  service  on  the  Sabbath.  Of  the  twenty- 
nine  congregations  of  Erie  Presbytery,  twenty-one  were 
without  a  stated  ministry.  The  Presbj-tery  of  West 
Tennessee,  with  a  population  of  three  hundred  thou- 
sand inhabitants  within  its  bounds,  had  but  fourteen 
ministers.  Missouri  and  Mississippi  were  equally  des- 
titute. Hopewell  Presbyter}-,  covering  half  of  Georgia, 
had  but  eight  ministers.  TiU  1824,  there  was  not  a 
Presbyterian  minister  in  East  or  West  Florida.  The 
whole  Territory  of  Michigan  was  almost  unbroken  mis- 
sionary^ ground. 

Facts  like  these,  spread  abroad  not  only  in  the  re- 
ports of  the  Assembly,  but  through  the  public  journals 
and  by  published  appeals,  excited  a  deep  and  general 
interest  throughout  the  community.  They  were  not 
overlooked  by  thoughtful  men,  who  discerned  the  im- 
portance of  the  crisis.  New  Territories  were  forming 
and  springing  up  to  the  dimensions  of  States,  while 
the  tide  of  immigration  Avas  pouring  westward  with 
accelerated  rapidity  and  increased  volume.  The  As- 
sembly of  1825  was  not  premature  in  urging  the 
churches  to  "  consider  very  seriously  the  case  of  the 
destitute  parts  of  our  country,  and  especially  of  the 
many  thousands  of  families  in  the  new  States  in  the 
West  and  in  the  South  which  are  growing  up  almost 
entirel}'  destitute  of  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  and 
of  all  religious  instruction."  They  were  exhorted  by 
increased  liberality  to  supply  the  means  for  the  solu- 
tion of  the  great  problem  of  the  nation's  future,  and 
furnish  the  Board  of  Missions  with  means  not  only  to 
send  out  missionaries,  but  to  assist  when  necessary  in 


226  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

the  support  of  settled  pastors,  especially  where  there 
was  the  prospect  of  a  permanent  establishment  of  the 
means  of  grace. 

But  an  equal  necessity  <:leman<le<l  that  the  men  as 
well  as  the  means  should  be  provided;  tyid  in  IS] 9  the 
Board  of  Education  was  estaljlislied.  At  this  time  fifty 
young  men,  ])reparing  for  the  ministry,  were  supported 
by  the  diiferent  Presbyteries.  The  contributions  of 
Albany  Presbytery  in  1823  amounted  to  twelve  hundred 
dollars.  To  secvire  concert  and  eificiency  of  action,  a 
General  Board  was  established,  and  the  committee  by 
whom  the  Constitution  of  it  was  drawn  up  consisted 
of  Drs.  Hill,  Richards,  and  Blatchford,  and  the  Rev. 
Messrs.  Martin  and  Ilerron.  The  voluntary  societies, 
however,  had  largely  anticipated  the  necessity  for  this 
oriranization,  and  absorbed  the  funds  which  would 
oth-erwiso  have  flowed  through  this  channel. 

The  prosj^ects  of  the  Church,  however,  in  connection 
with  its  theological  and  literary  institutions,  continued 
to  be  more  and  more  cheering.  Throughout  the  entire 
period  the  colleges  of  the  land  were  remarkably  favored 
with  revivals.  In  1821,  the  number  of  pious  young 
men  in  Union,  Hamilton,  and  Princeton  Colleges  was 
estimated  at  more  than  one  hundred  and  ten.^  The 
seminary  at  Princeton  continued  to  prosper,  and  funds 
continued  still  to  be  collected  for  its  endowment.  In 
1816  it  numbered  forty-seven  students,  in  1820  seventy, 
and  in  1823  eighty-five.  In  1S18  the  Presbyteries  of 
Central  New  York  proposed  to  the  Assembly  the  esta- 
blishment of  another  theological  seminary  within  their 
bounds.  Unwilling  to  assume  the  responsibility  of  the 
undertaking,  the  Assembly  left  to  the  Presbyteries  the 
consideration  and  prosecution  of  the  project.  The  re- 
sult was  that,  by  a  vigorous  and  persevering  effort,  Au- 

'  In  1822  the  number  in  Union  alone  was  .seventy. 


THE    OEXKRAL    ASSEMBLY,    1S16-1S25.  227 

burn  Seminary  was  established.  At  nearly  the  same 
time  the  churches  of  Pittsburg,  Ohio,  and  Kentucky 
Synods  projected  the  founding  of  a  seminary  convenient 
for  themselves.  But  local  differences  intervened,  and 
the  Western  Theological  Seminary  at  Alleghany  was 
not  founded  till  1826.  The  germ  of  the  Union  Theo- 
logical Seminary  in  connection  with  Hampden-Sidncy 
College  in  Virginia,  which  had  long  existed,  began  to 
attract  more  attention,  and  to  give  promise  of  enlarged 
influence  and  success. 

The  cause  of  domestic  missions  failed  to  receive  from 
the  Assembly  during  this  period  that  measure  of  at- 
tention to  which  it  was  entitled.  Although  there  had 
been  an  absolute  advance,  it  had  by  no  means  kept 
pace  with  the  growth  of  the  Church  or  the  demands 
of  the  mission-field.  The  number  of  missionaries  an- 
nually sent  out  by  Board  continued,  indeed,  steadily  to 
increase, — rising  in  the  course  of  ten  years  from  about 
fifty  to  more  than  eight}'.  The  method  of  missionary 
operations  was  also  made  more  systematic;  and,  before 
the  close  of  the  period,  measures  were  taken  to  extend 
aid  to  feeble  churches  in  support  of  pastors.  Some  of 
the  Synods  also,  as  those  of  Pittsburg  and  Ohio,  were 
prosecuting  missionary  labor  at  their  own  expense 
within  their  bounds;  but  the  aggregate  fell  short  of 
Avhat  was  demanded  by  the  needs  of  the  churches. 
The  deficiency  was,  no  doubt,  largely  due  to  the  fact 
that  the  interests  and  sympathies  of  the  churches  were 
largely  drawn  off  by  local  missionary  societies,  prose- 
cuting, in  fact,  the  same  work  with  the  Board  of  Mis- 
sions. 

In  1822  the  United  Domestic  Missionary  Society  cf 
Xew  York  commenced  its  opei'ations.  It  was  formed 
by  a  convention  of  delegates  from  different  missionary 
organizations  within  the  bounds  of  the  State.  Eev, 
Dr.    Proudfit    represented    the    Northern    Missionary 


228  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

Society;  Eev.  Dr.  David  Porter,  the  missionary  society 
of  the  Middle  District;  Rev.  Messrs.  W.  E.  Weeks, 
James  Southworth,  Dirck  C.  Lansing,  Benjamin  Stock- 
ton, and  Stephen  Porter,  the  Eastern,  Middle,  and 
"Westera  divisions  of  the  missionary  society  of  the 
Western  District;  Rev.  Elibu  Baldwin  and  Eleazar 
Lord,  the  New  York  Evangelical  Society;  Rev.  James 
M.  Matthews  and  John  D.  Keese,  the  Young  Men's  Mis- 
sionary Society  of  New  York;  Rev.  Messrs.  Elisha 
Yale  and  William  Chester,  the  Presbytery  of  Alban}- ; 
Rev.  Henry  Dwight  and  Abraham  B.  Hall,  the  Genesee 
Missionary  Society;  and  Rev.  Messrs.  John  Smith  and 
John  Truair,  the  Union  Society  for  Domestic  and 
Foreign  Missions. 

Upon  the  assembling  of  the  delegates,  it  was  resolved 
that  it  was  expedient  to  form  a  domestic  missionary 
society,  and  Drs.  Proudfit  and  Porter  and  Rev  Mr. 
Lansing  were  appointed  a  committee  to  draught,  in  the 
form  of  a  Constitution,  the  articles  of  agreement.  The 
You-ng  Men's  Missionary  Society  and  the  Evangelical 
Missionary  Society  of  New  York  City,  which  had  stood 
toward  each  other  somewhat  in  the  attitude  of  rivals, 
were  merged  in  the  new  organization  which  was  to 
assume  their  obligations. 

An  address  to  the  Christian  public  gave  the  reasons 
for  the  measure  that  had  now  been  inaugurated.  The 
different  missionary  societies  which  had  hitherto  been 
organized  had  sent  out  many  faithful  laborers  into  the 
field.  But  their  efforts  had  been  desultory.  They  had 
been  able  to  survey  but  a  limited  region  and  provide 
for  limited  demands.  *'  Some  destitute  regions  had 
been  regularly  visited  by  missionaries  of  different 
societies;  others,  equally  in  need  of  missionary  aid,  had 
been  passed  by  and  suffered  to  remain  unexplored. 
Nor  was  it  reasonable  to  expect  that  a  complete  survey 
should  be  made  even  of  the  moral  wastes  in  a  single 


THE    GENERAL    ASSEMBLY,    1S16-1825.  229 

State,  except  under  the  auspices  of  a  general  missionary 
society." 

To  remedy  this  defect,  and  "to  excite  a  fresh  and 
more  extensive  interest  in  the  cause  of  domestic  mis- 
sions," the  "  United  Domestic  Missionary  Society"  was 
formed.  Each  auxiliary  might  co-operate  in  the  most 
efficient  manner  as  a  branch  of  the  society;  while 
"  every  privilege  in  regard  to  the  application  of  its 
funds"  was  fully  secured  to  it. 

On  the  26th  of  June,  a  general  and  public  meeting 
of  the  society  was  held  in  Murray  Street  Church.  The 
two  missionary  societies  which  had  previously  existed 
in  the  city  were  declared  incorporated  with  the  new 
organization.  By  this  union  the  United  Domestic  Mis- 
sionary Society  had  twenty-nine  missionaries  already 
in  the  field  committed  to  its  charge.  Although  for  the 
most  part  composed  of  Presbyterians,  the  society  num- 
bered among  its  Vice-Presidents  Dr.  Livingston  and 
Colonel  Eutgers,  of  the  Eeformed  Dutch  Church,  while 
Hon.  Stephen  Van  Rensselaer  was  President  of  this 
society  and  at  the  same  time  of  "  The  Missionary 
Society  of  the  Eeformed  Dutch  Church,"  formed  a  few 
months  anterior  to  the  United  Domestic  Missionary 
Society,  and  for  kindred  objects. 

On  March  17,  1823,  the  Young  Men's  Missionary 
Society  of  New  York  was  formed  as  an  auxiliary,  and 
one  object  of  the  formation  of  the  General  Society 
seemed  attained, — viz.,  to  excite  a  fresh  and  deeper 
interest  in  the  cause  of  home  missions.  Its  first  report 
showed  that  within  twelve  months  of  its  formation  it 
had  in  its  employ  sixty  missionaries,  mainly  within  the 
bounds  of  the  State.  Its  policy  differed  in  a  marked 
manner  from  that  pursued  by  most  of  the  other 
societies.  It  distinctly  referred  to  the  advantages  at- 
tendant upon  a  permanent  location  of  missionaries 
over  the  plan  of  itinerating.  By  aiding  infant  churches 
Vol.  II.— 20 


230  HISTORY    Oi'    l-RKJ5liYTI.^Uf,VMSM. 

to  support  and  settle  pastors,  the  churelj  and  tlic  society 
shared  the  burden,  which  thus  tell  moi'C  liglitly  on  each, 
while  the  institutions  of  the  gospel  in  destitute  regions 
were  placed  on  a  more  permanent  basis. 

This  policy  was  distinctly  announced  and  advocated 
in  the  first  report  of  the  society;  and  it  shows  the 
enlai'ged  views  of  its  founders  that  they  had  thus  per- 
ceived the  point  in  which,  from  the  necessary'  lack  of 
means,  the  plan  of  operations  of  the  General  Assembly, 
excellent  as  it  was  in  some  respects,  was  defective. 

The  field  opened  before  the  society  was  one  which 
demanded  all  its  resources.  These  Amounted  for  the 
year  to  nearly  six  thousand  dollars:  yet  "there  exist," 
say  the  directors,  '■  within  our  knowledge,  more  than 
a  hundred  stations  where,  with  partial  aid  from  our 
funds,  young  men  might  be  immediately  settled." 

From  the  six  societies  which  had  become  auxiliary 
during  the  year,  and  from  others  that  were  to  become 
so,  additional  contributions  were  confidently  expected; 
and,  to  secure  co-operation  on  the  most  satisfactory 
terms  to  all  concerned,  it  was  distinctly  stated  that 
auxiliaries  Avere  "entitled  to  designate  the  stations 
where  the  funds  they  contribute  are  to  be  employed 
in  supporting  missionaries  " 

The  Young  Men's  Missionary  Society  proved  an 
efficient  auxiliary.  Its  funds  were  managed  and  dis- 
bursed by  itself,  the  parent  society  appointing  the  mis- 
sionaries and  designating  the  stations  which  were  to 
be  under  the  superintendence  of  the  auxiliary.  It 
employed  ten  missionaries  in  the  counties  of  Delaware, 
Genesee,  Schoharie,  Herkimer,  Essex,  Warren,  Rensse- 
laer, (fee,  in  the  State  of  New  York.  The  congregation 
at  Esperance  was  gathered  through  its  aid  ;  a  church 
was  formed  in  a  neighboring  village,  Avhile  at  Andes, 
where  for  nine  years  pastoral  labor  had  not  been  en- 
joyed, the  services  of  a  minister  were  secured,  and  the 


THE    GENERAL    ASSEMBLY,    1816-1825.  231 

members  of  the  church  were  doubled.  Such  was  the 
specimen  given  of  its  operations. 

For  several  years  these  and  other  local  societies  were 
in  active  and  successful  operation  within  the  bounds  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church.  Beneficent  in  aims  and  re- 
sults, they  labored  in  perfect  harmony  with  one  another 
and  with  the  Assembly's  Board.  The  magnitude  of 
their  plans  and  success  was  not  yet  such  as  to  make 
their  patronage,  concentrated  in  a  single  society,  dan- 
gerous to  the  peace  or  calculated  to  excite  the  jealousy 
of  large  portions  of  the  Church,  and  come  at  least  into 
seeming  conflict  with  the  plans  and  methods  of  the 
Assembly's  operations. 

The  rapid  growth  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  war- 
ranted the  Assembly  in  renewing  to  the  Synods  of  the 
Associate  Eeformed  ami  Dutch  Reformed  Churches'  the 
overtures  for  mutual  correspondence  which  had  beea 
rejected  (1798)  some  twenty  years  previous.  Mea- 
sures were  therefore  taken  by  the  Assembly  of  1819 
with  a  view  to  this  object.  A  plan  of  correspondence 
with  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church  was  not  adopted 
until  1823;  but  one  with  the  Associate  Reformed  was 
carried  into  etfect  in  1820.  In  the  following  year,  a 
committee  was  appointed  by  the  Assembly  to  confer 
with  a  similar  committee^  from  the  Associate  Reformed 
Synod,  then  in  session  in  Philadelphia,  with  a  view  to 
concert  measures  for  union  between  the  two  bodies, 
and  to  report  the  result  as  soon  as  convenient.  The 
proposal  was  met  in  a  fraternal  spirit,  and  the  result 
of  the  conference  was  in  favor  of  the  projected  union. 
The  Presbyteries  of  the  Synod  might  retain  their  dis- 


1  Minutes  of  1819. 

^  The  committee  of  the  Assembly  consisted  of  Drs.  Green,  Blatch- 
ford,  and  McDowell,  and  Messrs.  B.  Strong  and  H.  Southard;  that 
of  the  Synod,  of  Dr  John  M.  Mason,  Rev.  Messrs.  E.  Dickey,  John 
Liud,  William  Wilson,  and  Mr.  Joseph  Gushing. 


232  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

tinct  organization, — a  concession  to  the  dedioe  affinity 
principle, — or  be  amalgamated  with  those  of  the  As- 
sembly at  their  own  choice.  The  Theological  Library 
and  funds  of  the  Synod  were  to  be  transferred  to  the 
seminary  at  Princeton,  and  the  churches  of  the  Synod 
were  to  raise  funds  for  the  partial  endowment  of  a 
Professorship  of  Biblical  Literature. 

These  articles  of  union  were  readily  accepted  by  the 
Assembly.  But  the  Synod,  while  approving  the  plan, 
referi'ed  it  back  to  the  Presbyteries  for  their  adoption. 
The  project  for  providing  a  new  psalmody  for  the 
Church  had  already  been  taken  up  by  the  Assembly, 
but  seems  to  have  had  no  prejudicial  effect  upon  the 
disposition  in  favor  of  union  between  the  two  bodies. 
In  1822  the  proposed  measure  was  carried  into  effect, — 
not,  however,  by  a  majority  of  the  Synod,  nor  without 
strenuous  opposition  from  some  of  its  Southern  and 
Western  Presbyteries.^ 


1  The  Rev.  Dr.  Forsyth  states  that  when  the  question  of  union 
■was  submitted  to  the  Associate  Reformed  Synod  the  vote  stood — 
for  union,  seven  ;  againat  it,  six ;  and  silent,  four.  "  The  majority 
immediately  declared  the  Synod  dissolved,  and,  in  palpable  violation 
of  the  Constitution  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  they  were  at  once 
admitted  as  members  of  the  Assembly,  to  which  they  had  never  been 
chosen.  Within  a  week  after  this  secession  from  the  Associate  Re- 
formed Church,  her  valuable  library  was,  with  singular  expedition, 
removed  from  New  York  to  Princeton."  A  full  attendance  of  mem- 
bers, on  their  way  to  the  Synod  when  the  vote  was  taken,  would 
have  prevented  the  measure.  Three  Presbyteries  were  brought  into 
connection  with  the  Presbyterian  Church  by  this  measure, — New 
York  Second,  Philadelphia,  and  Big  Spring, — the  last  two  becoming, 
on  their  dissolution,  amalgamated  with  other  Presbyteries.  New 
York  Second  had  Cedar  Street  Church  (Dr.  McLeod,  soon  after  suc- 
ceeded by  Dr.  McElroy),  Pearl  Street  Church  (W.  W.  Phillips,  pas- 
tor), and  Murray  Street  Church  (W.  D.  Snodgrass,  pastor).  In 
Philadelphia  were  Dr.  Dickey,  Dr.  Duncan,  of  Baltimore,  Mr. 
McLean,  of  Gettysburg,  Dr.  Grey,  and  a  few  others.     Among  others 


THE    GENERAL    ASSEMBLY,    1S16-1825.  233 

The  Associate  Eeformed  Church  in  this  country 
oi'igiriated  in  a  union,  formed  June  13,  1782,  between 
the  Eeformed  and  u  portion  of  the  Associate  Church. 
The  Associate  body  in  Scotland  commenced  its  exist- 
ence in  1747,  on  the  basis  of  opposition  to  the  Burgess 
oath,  by  means  of  which  the  seceders  were  divided  into 
two  bodies, — the  Anti-Burgher  Synod  assuming  the 
name  of  Associate.  Three  years  later,  the  grounds  of 
the  division  were  so  well  understood  and  approved  by 
emigrants  from  Scothmd  who  had  settled  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, that  a  petition  for  ministerial  aid  was  addressed 
by  them  to  the  Associate  Synod  of  Scotland.^ 

It  was  not  till  1753  that  the  Synod  found  themselves 
so  situated  as  to  grant  the  request.  In  that  year 
Alexander  Gellatly  and  Andrew  Arnot  were  sent  out 
to  this  country  as  missionaries.  They  were  authorized 
to  organize  congregations,  ordain  elders,  and,  if  judged 
proper,  constitute  themselves  with  ruling  elders  into  a 
Presbj'ter}'.  In  the  exercise  of  their  authority  they 
formed  themselves,  soon  after  their  arrival  in  1754,  into 
the  "Associate  Presbytery  of  Pennsylvania,  subordi- 
\iate  to  the  Associate  Synod  of  Edinburgh." 

The  field  which  this  body  assumed  to  occupy  was 
within  the  bounds  of  the  "  Old-Side"  Synod  of  Phila- 
delphia, but  more  especially  within  the  territory  covered 
hy  the  Presbytery  of  New  Castle.  B}^  the  latter — who 
had  learned,  from  their  ex2:)erience  in  connection  wnth 
the  Tennents,  Whitefield,  and  their  sympathizers,  to 
look  with  a  jealous  eye  on  those  w^ho  assumed  to  dis- 
pense the  ordinances  of  the  gospel  within  their  bounds 
— the   Scottish  Associate  ministers  were  regarded   as 

who  thus  came  into  connection  with  the  Churcli  were  Drs.  Junkin 

and  Engles.     See  Presliytei'ian  Quai'terly  Review,  1854,  p.  151. 

1  Miller's    Biographical  Sketches    and   Sermons  of   some  of   the 

first  ministers  of  the  Associate  Church  in  America,  witli  a  historical 

introduction,  p.  10. 

20» 


234  IIISTOUY    Oi'    ini-SDYTI-RIAMSM. 

intruders,  and  were  represented  as  seceders  from  the 
Presbyterian  Church  in  America  as  well  as  in  Scotland. 
A  "  warning"  was  issued  against  them,  in  which  they 
were  not  only  denounced  as  schismatics  and  separatists, 
but,  in  connection  with  the  Associate  Chui'ch,  as  holding 
and  teaching  error  concerning  the  gospel  offer,  the 
nature  of  faith,  and  the  obligation  of  the  religious 
covenant  engagements  of  the  forefathers  of  the  Scotch 
Reformation  on  their  posterity.  To  this  "  w^arning" 
Mr.  Gellatly  replied;  and  the  controversy  was  carried 
on  for  some  time  with  a  considerable  degree  of  spirit, 
and  not  without  the  use  of  sharp  language. 

The  Associate  Presbytery,  however,  in  spite  of  op- 
position, continued  to  increase.  Mr.  Gellatly  was  settled 
at  Octorara  and  Oxford,  in  Lancaster  county,  and  soon 
after  several  other  ministers  were  sent  over  to  this 
country, — among  them,  James  Proudfit,  Matthew  Hen- 
derson, and  John  Mason,  the  latter  the  first  pastor  of 
the  Associate  Church  which  was  gathered  by  his  labors 
in  the  city  of  New  York. 

In  the  course  of  ten  years,  applications  to  the  Pres- 
bytery for  preaching  were  received  from  various  parts 
of  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  Virginia,  and  the  Caro- 
linas.  Several  of  the  Burgher  brethren  had,  mean- 
while, been  received  into  the  body, — a  measure  which 
was  regarded  with  disfavor  by  the  Associate  body  in 
Scotland,  and  one  which  the  Presbytery  was  required 
to  annul  before  other  ministers  could  be  sent  over  at 
their  earnest  request.  In  1770  and  1771,  a  correspond- 
ence took  place  between  the  Presbytery  and  the  Synod 
of  New  York  and  Philadelphia  respecting  a  union 
between  the  two  bodies;  but  the  project  was  at  length 
abandoned  as  hopeless. 

In  1776,  the  Presbytery  numbered  thirteen  ministers 
in  New  York  and  Pennsylvania.  An  unwise  division 
was  made  of  the  body  into  two  Presbyteries,  and  the 


THE    GENERAL    ASSEMBLY,    lSlO-1825.  235 

reunion  was  not  effected  till  1782.  Meanwhile,  repeated 
efforts  were  made  to  efiect  a  union  with  the  Eefbrmed 
Presbytery,  commonl}*  called  Covenanters.  This  Pres- 
bytery had  been  constituted  in  1774,  and  was  connected 
ecclesiastically  with  the  Reformed  Presbyterians  of 
Scotland.  It  consisted  of  three  ministers, — John  Cuth- 
bertson,  William  Linn,  and  Alexander  Dobbin,  who 
preached  mostly  in  Pennsylvania.  From  1777,  repeated 
conferences  were  held,  and  the  points  of  difference 
freely  discussed.  The  project  for  union  appears  to 
have  been  successively  reviewed  and  abandoned, — a 
large  minority,  and  sometimes  a  majority,  of  the  As- 
sociate body  opposing  it,  until  at  last  it  was  carried  in 
the  Presbytery  by  the  casting  vote  of  James  Proudfit, 
the  moderator. 

The  minority  refused  to  acquiesce  in  the  decision, 
and  still  maintained  their  organization.  They  pro- 
tested that  the  powers  of  the  Presbytery  were  still 
vested  in  themselves,  who  adhered  to  its  true  principles 
and  constitution.  Continuing  to  increase,  they  were  at 
length  organized  into  a  Synod,  in  May,  1801,  at  Phila- 
delphia, and  assumed  the  name  of  the  Associate  Synod 
of  North  America. 

The  united  body,  adopting  the  style  of  "  The  As- 
sociate Reformed,"  became,  in  fact,  a  new  denomina- 
tion. It  was  not,  however,  till  1804  that  they  attained 
strength  sufficient  to  warrant  their  organization  as  a 
Synod.  In  May  (oOth)  of  that  year  this  body  was  con- 
stituted at  Greencastle,  Pa.,  and  the  opening  sermon 
was  preached  by  Dr.  John  M.  Mason,  of  New  York.^ 
More,  perhaps,  than  any  other  man  he  contributed  to 
the  influences  by  which  the  body  was  brought,  in  1821, 
to  entertain  proposals  for  a  ujiion  with  the  General 
Assembly.     His  own  superiority  to  the  narrowness  of 


>  Wilson's  Presbyterian  Almanac,  1859,  p    185. 


236  HISTORY    OF    I'RESBYTERIAXISM. 

view  which  could  make  dividing  lines  of  non-essentials, 
and  the  extent  to  which  in  the  missionary  co-operation 
of  the  times  he  and  his  brethren  Avere  brought  into 
contact  with  other  branches  of  the  Church,  prepared 
the  way  for  the  measures  by  Avhich  the  Associate  Ee- 
formed  bod}-  became  a  part  of  the  Presbj'terian  Church 
under  the  care  of  the  Assembly.  The  Southei-n  and 
Western  Synods,  however,  still  declined  to  be  included 
in  the  union,  and  reclaimed  for  themselves  the  property 
which  the  General  Synod  had  made  over  to  the  As- 
sembl}-. 

JSTo  exception  was  taken  to  any  irregularity  by  Avhich 
the  delegates  of  the  Synod  were  conceded  seats  in  a 
body  to  which  they  had  never  been  elected,  or  to  their 
anomalous  position  as  representatives  of  Presbj'tcries 
Avhich  at  the  time  were  not — and,  perhaps,  never  would 
become — constituent  parts  of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 
Formalities,  however,  were  laid  aside,  and  the  delegates 
to  the  Synod  were  cordially  invited  to  take  their  seats 
as  members  of  the  Assembh\  The  invitation  was  ac- 
cepted, and  the  occasion  was  described  as  "  deeply  in- 
teresting and  affecting."  The  union  thus  brought  about 
introduced  an  element  which  hitherto  had  stood  aloof  on 
grounds  which,  in  this  country,  had  for  the  most  part  lost  the 
significance  which  had  seemed  to  justify  separation  in  Scot- 
land. It  really  brought  together  those  whose  unity  was 
essential  and  whose  differences  were  mainly  technical,  and 
thenceforth  we  find  prominent  in  the  history  of  our  Church 
names  that  had  become  already  conspicuous  in  another 
connection. 

In  this  same  year,  moreover, — as  if  to  afford  contem- 
poraneous illustration  of  the  broad  and  liberal  spirit 
of  the  Church,  another  accession  was  received,  of  a 
somewhat  diverse  character.  The  Chai'leston  Congre- 
gational Association  (S.C.).  which  had  l)ecn  in  existence 
many  years,  upon  the  report  of  a  committee  appointed 


THE    GKNEllAL    ASSEMBLY,    1S16-1825.  237 

to  examine  the  distinctive  features  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  and  lay  tlie  results  of  the  examination  before 
the  Association,  voted  (1822)  its  own  dissolution  in 
case  a  union  could  be  effected  with  the  Presltytery  of 
Harmony.  Tlie  plan  of  union  was  carried  out;  and  in 
1828  Charleston  Union  Presbytery,  consisting  of  the 
ministers  of  the  Association  and  the  members  of  Har- 
mony Presbytery,  was  erected. 

Among  matters  of  a  more  miscellaneous  character 
which  during  this  period  claimed  the  attention  of  the 
Assembly,  there  are  several  which  require  at  least  a 
passing  notice.  In  1818  steps  were  taken  for  the  pre- 
paration of  a  digest  of  the  most  important  acts  of  the 
Synod  of  New  York  and  Philadelphia,  and  of  the 
General  Assembly  which  issued  in  the  publication  of 
the  volume  of  1820.  In  1819  the  first  steps  wei-e  taken 
for  providing  an  authorized  Psalmody  adapted  to  the 
wants  of  the  Church,  and  which  resulted  in  the  publi- 
cation adopted  and  published  eleven  years  later  by 
order  of  the  Assembly.  The  subjects  of  colonization, 
intemperance,  and  Sabbath-observance  came  up  re- 
peatedly for  notice,  and  received  due  attention.  From 
1812  to  1819,  the  Assembly  Avas  repeatedly  engaged  in 
discussions  concerning  measures  to  promote  the  proper 
observance  of  the  Lord's  day,  and  petitions  were  again 
and  again  drawn  up  and  sent  down  to  the  congrega- 
tions to  be  signed  and  forwarded  to  Congress,  praying 
for  the  repeal  of  the  law  which  required  the  conveyance 
of  the  mail  on  the  Sabbath.  The  interest  of  the  As- 
sembly in  behalf  of  the  monthly  concert  of  prayer,  and 
the  cause  of  Sabbath-schools,  tract,  Bible,  and  mission- 
ary societies,  was  repeatedly  evinced  by  its  utterances. 
It  was  stated  in  1820,  as  a  matter  for  gratulation,  that 
at  that  time  there  Avere  nine  thousand  children  in  at- 
tendance on  Sabbath-schools  in  New  York,  fourteen 
thousand  in  Philadelphia,  eight  thousand  in  Baltimore, 


238  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIAN ISM. 

and  a  proportionate  number  in  other  cities.  In  1821, 
the  subject  of  Free  Masonry  was  brought  before  the 
Assembly ;  but  no  decisive  action  was  taken  upon  it. 

In  181(3,  Drs.  liomeyu,  Alexander,  and  Miller  were 
appointed  a  committee  to  re-examuie  our  forms  of  pro- 
cess, and  to  prepare  and  report  such  additions  and 
explanations  as  might  appear  needful  and  expedient. 
Their  report,  made  in  1819,  was  sent  down  to  the  Pres- 
byteries for  their  suggestions.  The  report  of  the  fol- 
lowing 3'ear  was  sent  down  to  the  Presbyteries  for  their 
adoption;  and  by  a  large  majority  the  amendments, 
which  reduce  the  book  of  Discipline  to  its  present 
form,  were  approved,  and  by  the  Assembly  of  1821  were 
declared  to  be  adopted.  The  rules  for  the  government 
of  judicatories  which  were  adopted  by  the  Assembly 
of  the  same  year,  having  never  been  ratified  by  the 
Presbyteries,  form  no  part  of  the  constitution  of  the 
Church. 

This  was  the  case  also  with  the  notes  which  in  1794 
had  been  printed  in  connection  with  the  standards  of 
the  Church.  Having  never  been  submitted  to  the  Pres- 
byteries, their  authority  was  simply  that  of  the  approval 
of  the  Assembly.  In  1816,  attention  was  called  to  this 
subject  by  an  overture  of  the  Presbytery  of  Philadel- 
phia, and,  in  consequence  of  objections  urged,  the  As- 
sembly decided  to  omit  those  which  referred  to  the 
subject  of  man-stealing  in  connection  with  the  question, 
"  What  is  forbidden  in  the  eighth  commandment  ?"  The 
Assembly,  however,  took  occasion  to  declare  that  in 
directing  the  omission  they  were  "  influenced  by  far 
other  motives  than  any  desire  to  favor  slavery,  or  to 
retard  the  extinction  of  that  mournful  evil  as  speedily 
as  may  consist  with  the  happiness  of  all  concerned." 
At  the  same  time,  the  question  whether  masters  who 
were  members  of  the  Church  were  in  duty  bound  to 
present   the   children  of  parents  in   servitude  for  the 


THE    GENERAL   ASSEMBLY,    1S1G-1S25.  239 

ordinance  of  baptism,  provided  they  were  in  a  situation 
to  give  them  a  religious  education  and  training,  was 
considered,  and  answered  in  the  affirmative. 

But  here  the  subject  was  not  permitted  to  rest.  In 
1818,  the  sale  of  a  slave — a  member  of  the  Church — was 
brought  to  the  attention  of  the  Assembly/  and  a  com- 
mittee, of  which  Dr.  Ashbel  Green  was  chairman,^  made 
a  report  which  was  unanimously  adopted.  It  shows 
the  decided  stand  which  the  Assembly,  without  a  dis- 
sentient voice,  was  prepared  to  take  on  the  subject  of 
slavery.  It  declares,  "We  consider  the  voluntar}^  en- 
slaving of  one  part  of  the  human  race  by  another,  as 
a  gross  violation  of  the  most  precious  and  sacred  rights 
of  human  nature,  as  utterly  inconsistent  with  the  law 
of  God,  which  requires  us  to  love  our  neighbor  as  our- 
selves, and  as  totally  irreconcilable  with  the  spirit  and 
principles  of  the  gospel  of  Christ,  which  enjoin  that  '  all 
things  whatsoever  ye  would  that  men  should  do  to  you, 
do  ye  even  so  to  them.'  Slavery  creates  a  paradox  in 
the  moral  system :  it  exhibits  rational,  accountable,  and 
immortal  beings  in  such  circumstances  as  scarcely  to 
leave  them  the  power  of  moral  action.  It  exhibits  them 
as  dependent  on  the  will  of  others  whether  the}'  shall 
receive  religious  instruction;  Avhether  they  shall  know 
and  worship  the  true  God;  whether  they  shall  enjoy 


1  It  was  done  by  submitting  to  the  Assembly  the  following  reso- 
lution:— "That  a  person  Avho  shall  sell  as  a  slave  a  member  of  the 
Church,  who  shall  be  at  the  time  of  sale  in  good  standing  in  the 
Church,  and  unwilling  to  be  sold,  acts  inconsistently  with  the  spirit 
of  Christianity,  and  ought  to  be  debarred  from  the  communion  of 
the  Church." 

^  It  was  "after  considerable  discussion"  that  the  subject  was  put 
into  the  hands  of  a  committee  consisting  of  Dr.  Green,  Dr.  Baxter, 
of  Virginia,  and  Rev.  Dyer  Burgess,  of  Southern  Ohio  (Miami  Pres- 
bytery), who  were  to  prepare  a  report  "embracing  the  object  of  the 
above  resolution,  and  also  expressing  the  opinion  of  the  Assembly 
in  general  as  to  slavery." 


240  IIlSTOilY    OF    PRESBVTERIANISM 

the  ordinances  of  the  gospel;  ^vhethe^  they  shall  per- 
form the  duties  and  cherish  the  endearments  of  hus- 
bands and  wives,  parents  and  children,  neighbors  and 
friends  ;  whether  they  shall  preserve  their  chastity  and 
purity,  or  regard  the  dictates  of  justice  and  humanity. 
Such  are  some  of  the  consequences  of  slaver}^, — conse- 
quences not  imaginary,  but  which  connect  themselves 
with  its  very  existence.  The  evils  to  which  the  slave 
is  always  exposed  often  take  place  in  fact,  and  in  their 
very  worst  degree  and  form ;  and  when  all  of  them  do 
not  take  place,  as  we  rejoice  to  say  that  in  many  in- 
stances, through  the  influence  of  the  principles  of  hu- 
manity and  religion  on  the  minds  of  masters,  they  do 
not, — still  the  slave  is  deprived  of  his  natural  right, 
degraded  as  a  human  being,  and  exposed  to  the  danger 
of  passing  into  the  hands  of  a  master  who  may  inflict 
upon  him  all  the  hardships  and  injuries  which  inhu- 
manity and  avarice  may  suggest. 

"  From  this  view  of  the  consequences  resulting  from 
the  practice  into  wdiich  Christian  people  have  most 
inconsistently  fallen,  of  enslaving  a  portion  of  their 
brethren  of  mankind, — for  God  hath  made  of  one  blood 
uU  nations  of  men  to  dwell  on  the  face  of  the  earth, — 
it  is  manifestly  the  duty  of  all  Christians  who  enjoy 
the  light  of  the  present  day,  Avhen  the  inconsistency  of 
slavery,  both  with  tlie  dictates  of  humanity  and  reli- 
gion, has  been  demonstrated  and  is  generally  seen  and 
acknowledged,  to  use  their  honest,  earnest,  and  un- 
wearied endeavors  to  correct  the  errors  of  former 
times,  and  as  speedily  as  possible  to  efl'ace  this  blot  on 
our  holy  religion,  and  to  obtain  the  complete  abolition 
of  slavery  throughout  Christendom,  and,  if  possible, 
throughout  the  world." 

While  rejoicing  that  the  Presbj'terian  Church  had 
early  devoted  attention  and  effort  to  the  work  of  put- 
ting an  end  to  slavery,  and  that  many  of  its  members 


THE    GENERAL   ASSEMBLY,  1816-1825.  241 

subsequently  had  proved  to  be  among  the  most  efficient, 
active,  and  vigorous  hiborers  in  this  work,  the  Assembly 
expressed  its  sympathy  for  those  portions  of  the  Church 
upon  which  the  evils  of  slavery  had  been  entailed, 
"where  a  great  and  the  most  virtuous  part  of  the  com- 
mvnity  abhor  slavery,  and  wish  its  extermination  as 
sincerel}'  as  any  others,"  but  where  the  number,  igno- 
rance, and  vicious  habits  generally  of  the  slaves  for- 
bade, out  of  regard  to  master  and  slave  alike,  immediate 
emancipation.  Yet  thej^  are  exhorted  to  increase  their 
exertions  for  "  a  total  abolition  of  slavery,"  suffering  no 
greater  delay  than  regard  for  the  public  welfare  "truly 
and  indispensably  demands." 

The  necessity  of  this  delay  the  Assembly  fully  ad- 
mits. Immediate  emancipation  might  only  "add  a 
second  injurj^  to  the  first."  Yet  this  delay  should  not 
be  made  "  a  cover  for  the  love  or  practice  of  slavery, 
or  a  pretence  for  not  using  efforts  that  are  lawful  and 
practicable  to  extinguish  the  evil."  Exhoi'ting  all  to 
forbearance  from  "harsh  censures  and  uncharitable  re- 
flections upon  their  brethren,"  the  Assembly  takes  oc- 
casion to  commend  the  Colonization  Society,  recently 
organized,  to  recommend  increased  attention  to  the  re- 
ligious instruction  of  slaves,  and  to  enjoin  upon  church 
Sessions  and  Presbyteries  the  prevention  of  all  cruelty 
in  the  treatment  of  slaves,  subjecting  those  who  should 
presume  to  sell  slaves,  members  of  the  Church,  against 
tlieir  will,  to  the  discipline  of  the  proper  church  judica- 
tories, by  whom  the  offender,  until  his  repentance,  Avas 
to  be  suspended  from  all  the  privileges  of  the  Church. 

In  1825,  the  Assembly  embodied  in  its  "  narrative"  a 
reference  to  the  claims  of  the  African  race.  "  We  no- 
tice," they  remark,  "  with  pleasure  the  enlightened  at- 
tention which  had  been  paid  to  the  religious  instruction 
and  evangelizing  of  the  unhappy  slaves  and  free  people  of 
color  of  our  country  in  some  regions  of  our  Church.  "We 

Vol.  II.— 21 


242  HISTORY    OF   PRESBYTERIANISM. 

would  especially  commend  the  prudence  and  zeal  com. 
bined  in  this  work  of  mercy  by  the  Presbyteries  of 
Charleston  Union,  Georgia,  Concord,  South  Alabama, 
and  Mississippi.  The  millions  of  this  unhappy  peojjle 
in  our  country,  from  their  singular  condition  as  brought 
to  the  gospel  by  a  peculiar  providence,  constitute  at 
home  a  mission  field  of  infinite  importance  and  of  a 
most  inviting  character.  No  more  honored  name  can 
be  conferred  on  a  minister  of  Jesus  Christ  than  that  of 
Apostle  to  the  American  slaves;  and  no  service  can  be 
more  pleasing  to  the  God  of  heaven  or  more  useful  to 
our  beloved  country  than  that  which  this  title  desig- 
nates." 

During  the  period  under  review  three  new  Synods 
had  been  erected, — the  Synod  of  Tennessee  in  1817, 
the  Synod  of  Genesee  in  1821,  and  the  Synod  of  New 
Jersey,  formed  by  a  division  of  the  Synod  of  New  York 
and  New  Jersey,  in  1823.  Never  had  the  progress  of 
the  Church  been  more  rapid,  and  at  no  time  had  the 
promise  for  the  future  been  more  cheering.  And  yet 
at  the  close  of  the  period  under  review  the  Assembly 
was  constrained  to  speak  of  the  sad  destitution  of  por- 
tfons  of  its  mission  field.  Missouri  and  Illinois,  with  a 
population  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  thousand,  had  but 
eighteen  Presbyterian  churches  and  seven  ordained 
ministers.  Mississippi  and  Louisiana,  with  a  population 
of  two  hundred  and  thirty  thousand,  had  but  eleven 
ministers  of  the  gospel  in  the  field  j  and  these  facts  were 
cited  as  "  specimens  of  this  wide  and  melancholy  waste." 


NEW   YORK,    1816-1830-  243 


CHAPTER  XXXIL 

NEW   YORK,    1816-1830. 

In  the  period  from  1816  to  1830,  the  cburelaes  within 
the  State  of  New  York  were  largely  increased  in  num- 
bers and  in  strength.  Besides  several  church  organiza- 
tions which  had  but  a  temporary  existence,  there  were 
gathered  in  the  city  of  New  York  the  Allen  Street 
(1819),  the  Colored  (1822),  the  Bleecker  Street  (1825), 
the  Central,  Broome  Street  (1821),  the  Spring  Street 
(1825),  and  the  North,  afterward  Carmine  Street  (1829), 
Presbyterian  Churches,  Along  the  line  of  the  Hudson 
there  were  few  new  church  organizations,  but  those 
already  existing  were  increased  in  strength.  At  Albany 
a  Third  Presbyterian  Church  was  organized  in  1817, 
and  the  Fourth  Church  was  gathered  by  E.  N.  Kirk  in 
1829.  To  the  Presbj'teries  of  Troy  and  Albany  quite 
a  large  number  of  churches  were  added,  insomuch 
that  the  aggregate  fell  little  short  of  sixty.  Among 
these  were  the  church  of  Saratoga  Springs,  organized 
in  1817,  and  the  Second  and  Third  Churches^  of  Troy. 
The  four  Presbyteries  of  Champlain,  Troy,  Albany,  and 
Columbia  embraced,  in  1830,  seventy-six  ministers  and 
eighty-six  churches,  of  nearly  ten  thousand  members. 
The  report  from  the  Presbyteries  of  Londonderry  and 
Newburyport,  in  New  England,  indicated  a  rapid 
growth.  The  membership  of  the  churches  had  in- 
creased in  fifteen  years  something  like  fifty  per  cent., 
numbering  in  1830  nearly  two  thousand  members. 

At  the  close  of  the  period  there  were  in  New  York 

1  The  Third  may  have  been  in  1831. 


244  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

City  alone  nineteen  Presbyterian  churches.  In  the  Wall 
Street  Church,  Philip  M.  Whelpley  had  succeeded  Dr. 
Miller  in  1815.  With  a  fine  intellectual  countenance, 
dark  eye,  perfectly  symmetrical  form,  and  altogether 
of  most  attractive  appearance,  his  clear,  rich,  and  per- 
fectly melodious  voice  and  faultless  rhetoric  secured 
him  the  reputation  of  a  perfect  elocutionist.  Although 
but  twenty-one  years  of  age  when  called  to  occupy  his 
eminent  and  highly  responsible  position,  he  immediately 
took  rank  as  one  of  the  most  gifted  and  eloquent  pulpit- 
orators  of  the  age.  He  had  early  cherished  the  hope 
of  bearing  the  standard  of  the  Cross  as  a  missionary 
to  foreign  lands.  From  the  narrative  of  Brainerd's 
life  he  had  caught  an  enthusiasm  which  could  only  be 
damped  by  insuperable  obstacles;  but  he  carried  with 
him  to  the  sacred  desk,  with  the  graces  of  the  orator, 
the  fervor  of  an  evangelist.  The  charms  of  his  voice, 
manner,  and  rhetoric  were  consecrated  to  the  work  of 
commending  the  gospel  of  Christ  to  dying  men.  But 
his  physical  frame,  unequal  to  the  task  imposed,  sank 
under  its  burdens,  and  in  the  thirtieth  year  of  his  age 
and  the  tenth  of  his  ministry  his  earthly  labors  were 
brought  to  their  close.  His  successor  in  1826  was  Dr. 
W.  W.  Phillips. 

In  the  Brick  Church  the  successor  of  Dr.  Eodgers  in 
1810  was  Gardiner  Spring,  whose  pastorate  of  more 
than  half  a  century  has  been  crowned  by  memories  of 
usefulness,  scenes  of  revival,  and  the  abundant  success 
of  philanthropic  efforts  which,  reaching  in  their  results 
across  the  continent  and  around  the  world,  have  en- 
shrined the  name  of  the  Brick  Church  and  that  of  its 
pastor  in  the  fond  affections  of  thousands. 

In  the  Eutficers  Street  Church  Dr.  Milledoler'  was  suc- 


1  Dr.  Milledoler's  excellence  as  a  pastor  and  his  warmly  sympa- 
thetic nature  rendered  him  greatly  beloved.     His  gifts  in  prayer,  in 


NEW    YORK,    1816-1S30.  245 

ceeded  by  Dr.  McClelland  in  1815,  and  by  Dr.  Thomas 
McAuley  in  1822.  Rarclj^  has  any  one  had  more  occa- 
sion to  rejoice  over  a  successful  pastorate  than  Dr. 
McAuley  while  in  charge  of  this  church.  By  no  means 
remax'kably  eloquent  or  profound,  he  was  a  man  of 
ready  utterance,  and  from  a  mind  richly  stored  with 
scriptural  knowledge,  and  far  from  lacking  in  the  lore 
of  the  scholar,  he  poured  forth  with  the  freshness  and 
fervor  of  pastoral  fidelity  those  exj)ositions  of  truth 
which  were  at  once  instructive  and  edifying.  The 
charm  of  his  genial  spirit,  racy  humor,  conversational 
tact,  and  warm  sympathy  almost  idolized  him  in  the 
hearts  of  his  people.  Succeeded  by  John  W.  Krebs  in 
1827,  he  removed  to  Philadelphia,  only,  however,  to  be 
recalled  a  few  years  later  to  the  charge  of  the  Murray 
Street  Church. 

In  the  Scotch  Presbyterian  Church  the  successors  of 
John  M.  Mason  (who  resigned  in  1810)  were  Eobert  B. 
E.  McLeod  and  Joseph  McElroy  (1824).  Dr.  Mason 
himself  undertook  the  task  of  collectina:  a  new  con<rre- 
gation,  and  the  Murray  Street  Church  was  the  result. 
He  was  still,  until  1822,  in  connection  with  the  Asso- 
ciate Reformed  body;  but  he  chafed  against  the  narrow 
restrictions  which  the  prejudices  of  some  who  belonged 
to  it  assumed  to  impose.  His  own  catholicity  of  spirit 
led  him  heartily  to  unite  with  his  Presbyterian  brethren 
in  missionary  and  charitable  effort.  Worshipping  in  the 
edifice  of  the  Cedar  Street  Church  while  his  own  was 
building,  he  felt  free  to  unite  w^ith  Dr.  Romeyn's  people 
in  the  communion  of  the  Lord's  Supj^er,  and  even,  in 
seeming  contempt  of  Rouse,  to  use  their  psalmod3^ 
His  work,  published  four  years  later,  on  "  Catholic 
Communion,"  was  in  reality  his  protest  against  the  pre- 
judices of  some  of  his  own  denomination,  as  well  as  a 

which  he  seemed  to  identify  himself  with  the  object  of  it,  are  spoken 
of  as  most  remarkable. 

21* 


246  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

vindication  of  his  views  and  practice.  Before  the  union 
of  the  Associate  Eeformed  Synod  with  the  churches  of 
the  General  Assembly  was  consummated,  he  was  one 
in  spirit  and  sentiment  with  the  American  Presbyterian 
Church. 

As  a  pulpit-orator,  he  held  the  very  foremost  rank 
among  his  contemporaries.  He  had  no  superior;  and 
none  has  yet  ventured  to  name  his  peer.  Nature  had 
lavished  upon  him  her  princeliest  gifts.  His  physical 
frame  was  magnificent  in  its  proportions;  while  its  per- 
fect symmetry  was  the  admiration  of  the  beholder. 
His  majestic  mien  and  commanding  presence  inspired 
awe  and  respect.  His  gesture  was  dignity,  and  his  look 
eloquence.  Nor  did  the  exterior  belie  the  inner  man. 
His  mind  was  proportioned  to  his  frame.  In  the  ad- 
mirable balance  of  his  faculties,  it  would  be  difficult  to 
say  which  predominated.  His  rhetoric  was  but  the 
grace  with  which  he  wielded  his  logic.  His  argumenta- 
tion was  splendid,  but  his  declamation  overwhelming. 
His  controversy  with  Bishop  Hobart  would  alone  have 
sufficed  for  his  fame  as  a  polemic;  and  his  "Messiah's 
Throne"  would  have  established  his  claim  to  rank 
among  the  princes  of  the  pulpit. 

His  rare  gifts  had  been  diligently  and  carefully  cul- 
tivated. His  father,  Dr.  John  Mason,  the  first  pastor 
of  the  Scotch  Church  (1761-92),  whom  he  was  called  to 
succeed,  was  a  man  of  eminent  abilities  and  superior 
education.  Under  his  direction  until  1791,  when  he 
crossed  the  ocean  in  order  to  complete  his  theological 
course  at  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  the  son  received 
his  training.  Eecalled  by  his  father's  death,  he  had  no 
sooner  fairly  entered  upon  his  pastorate  in  New  York 
than  his  reputation  was  established.  Although  only 
about  twenty -two  years  of  age,  he  proved  himself  fully 
equal  to  the  responsible  duties  of  his  position.  Not 
content  even  with  these,  he  labored  to  secure  for  the 


NEW    YORK,    1816-1830.  247 

Associate  Reformed  Church  the  advantages  of  a  more 
liberal  provision  for  ministerial  education.  The  plan 
of  a  theological  seminary  was  projected  by  him,  and 
carried  into  effect  in  1804.  Meanwhile,  he  visited 
Great  Britain  for  the  purpose  of  procuring  a  library 
for  the  institution,  of  which  he  was  himself  the  very 
life  and  soul.  He  succeeded  in  obtaining  about  three 
thousand  volumes,  and  on  his  return  induced  several 
young  men — theological  students  or  graduates — to  re- 
turn with  him,  to  seek  in  this  country  fields  of  useful- 
ness. Of  the  institution  he  was  appointed  the  first 
professor,  and,  in  connection  with  his  various  other 
duties,  continued  to  bear  the  responsibilities  of  the 
oflSce  till  failing  health  admonished  him  to  retire. 

As  if  the  duties  of  pastor  and  theological  professor, 
and  the  demands  made  upon  his  time  by  other  public 
engagements,  were  not  enough  to  task  his  herculean 
energies,  he  accejited,  in  1811,  the  office  of  provost  of 
Columbia  College.  For  several  years  subsequent,  the 
amount  of  labor  which  he  performed  is  almost  incredible. 
Of  the  college  he  was  really  the  acting  and  responsible 
head,  and  by  the  splendor  of  his  talents  and  the  energy 
of  his  administration  gave  it  a  character  which  it  never 
had  before.  But  even  his  gigantic  frame  was  unequal 
to  the  burdens  imposed  upon  it.  In  1817  his  health 
began  to  fail,  and,  though  greatly  benefited  by  a 
voyage  to  England,  it  was  never  fully  restored.  In  the 
autumn  of  1821  he  resigned  the  pastorate  of  the  church, 
and  for  three  3'ears  assumed  the  Presidency  of  Dickinson 
College,  to  which  he  had  been  urgently  invited.  He 
relinquished  it,  however,  in  1824,  and  in  the  gradual 
decay  of  his  strength  and  faculties  awaited  the  close 
of  life.  His  death  occurred  in  1829,  and  his  successors 
in  the  Murray  Street  Church  were  AVilliam  D.  Snod- 
grass  (1823)  and  Thomas  McAulcy  (1883). 

The  vigor  of  his  active  i^owers  was  exhausted  before 


248  HISTORY   OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

he  had  reached  his  fiftieth,  and  his  life  closed  before  he 
had  completed  his  sixtieth,  year.  His  personal  dis- 
ability was  felt  as  a  public  loss.  If  rigidly  orthodox, 
he  was  of  a  noble,  enlarged,  and  catholic  spirit;  and, 
fi'om  the  formation  of  the  New  York  Missionary  Society 
in  1796,  the  cause  of  missions  found  in  him  one  of  its 
most  ardent,  devoted,  and  effective  champions.  While 
unrelenting  in  his  opposition  to  error, — on  one  occasion, 
when  a  portion  of  his  audience  was  composed  of  Uni- 
tarians, embodying  in  the  benediction  the  formula  of 
the  Trinity,  and  adding,  "  Blistered  be  the  tongue  that 
will  not  say  Amen," — his  whole  soul  was  enlisted  in  the 
work  of  Christian  evangelization.  Some  of  his  most 
jDowerful  and  eloquent  utterances  in  the  pulpit  were  in 
vindication  of  the  truths  or  doctrines  of  tbe  Bible 
M'hich  had  been  subjected  to  the  assaults  of  the  skeptic 
or  the  errorist.  In  pouring  these  forth  he  seemed  re- 
sistless as  a  river's  torrent.  In  their  sublimity  and  im- 
pressiveness  they  might  perhaps  be  pronounced  not 
only  unapproached,  but  unapproachable.  Sir  James 
Mackintosh  •once  observed  that  no  man  could  compre- 
hend why  all  Greece  went  to  hear  Demosthenes,  until 
he  had  listened  to  Eobert  Hall.  Yet  Robert  Hall,  on 
hearing  Dr.  Mason  preach  in  London  his  magnificent 
discourse  on  "Messiah's  Throne,"  was  so  overwhelmed 
by  the  impression  of  his  power  as  to  declare  for  him- 
self, despondent  in  the  attempt  to  rival  such  a  model, 
that  he  could  never  preach  again. 

Such  eminence  as  this,  however,  was  due  to  no  ora- 
torical clap-trap.  None  could  have  abhorred  more 
deeply  than  Br.  Mason  any  resort  to  methods  of  speech 
or  manner  unbecoming  the  character  of  the  pulpit. 
The  mannerism  of  his  sentences — usually  short,  direct, 
and  remarkably  forcible — was  but  the  shaping  which 
they  naturally  received  from  the  channel  of  his  own 
clear  but  majestic  conceptions.     Few  men  have  ever 


NEW    YORK,    1816-1830.  249 

paid  less  attention  to  the  mere  polish  of  style. ^  The 
aid  of  manuscript  in  the  pulpit  he  scorned.  Ilis  thoughts 
were  marshalled  with  such  order  and  system,  and  pre- 
sented in  language  so  pertinent  and  appropriate,  as  to 
leave  the  impression  due  to  the  order,  jjrecision,  and 
force  of  the  most  elaborate  preparation.  Yet  only  a 
small  number  of  his  discourses  Avere  ever  Avritten ;  and 
of  those  -which  have  been  preserved,  a  few  only  are 
complete,  or  retain  the  precise  form  in  which  they  Avere 
delivered.  His  reputation,  hoAvever,  rests  on  a  broader 
base  than  his  published  Avritings.  Nearly  half  a  cen- 
tury after  he  preached  in  London,  the  tradition  of  his 
wonderful  power  Avas  still  fresh ;  and  there  are  a  fcAv 
yet  left  amid  the  scenes  of  his  labors  in  this  country, 
whose  memory  kindles  to  enthusiasm  at  the  mention 
of  his  name.^ 

In  the  Pearl  Street  Church,  organized  in  1797  as  the 
Second  Associate  Reformed,  and  forming  for  a  few  years 
(till  1804)  a  collegiate  charge  with  the  Scotch  Church 
in  Cedar  Street,  John  X.  Clark,  who  succeeded  Robert 
Forrest  (the  first  pastor)  in  1810,  continued  his  labors 

1  It  is  but  justice  to  the  truth  of  history  to  say  that  his  discourses 
were  not  unfrequently  quite  unworthy  of  his  fame.  The  published 
testimonies  to  his  eloquence  are  all  sufficiently  accordant  and  flat- 
tering ;  but,  by  persons  who  at  difi"erent  times  were  privileged  to 
hear  him,  I  have  been  informed  that  he  sometimes  fell  far  short  of 
the  ordinary  standard. 

2  Dr.  McVickar,  in  his  "Professional  Years  of  Hobart,"  says  of 
Dr.  Mason,  "Powerful  with  his  pen,  he  was  still  more  powerful  in 
debate,  .  .  .  while  at  the  same  time  his  truly  great  powers,  both 
of  argument  and  sarcasm,  seemed  to  justify  him  in  that  disdainful 
self-confidence  of  tone  and  manner  with  which  he  was  apt  to  put  to 
silence  opponents  of  whom  he  stood  not  in  awe." — P.  121.  He  speaks 
of  him  afterward  as  "joining  a  Warburtonian  coarseness  of  manner 
to  unquestioned  learning  and  overbearing  talent"  (p.  134),  and  as 
"leaving  behind  him"  in  the  Presbyterian  Church  "neither  equal 
nor  second." 


250  HISTORY   OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

for  about  seven  years.  He  was  succeeded  in  1818  by 
W.  W.  Phillips— called  to  Wall  Street  in  1826,— Walter 
Monteith  (1826),  Benjamin  H.  Eice  (1829),  Henry  A. 
Eowland  (1834),  and  Charles  H.  Read  (1848),  at  the 
close  of  whose  ministry  the  church  was  absorbed  in  the 
Broome  Street  (Central)  Church. 

In  the  Canal  Street  Church,  of  which  John  McNeice 
was  the  first  pastor  (1809-15),  Henry  Blatchford  la- 
bored from  1815  to  1819.  His  successors  were  John 
Alburtis  (1819),  Robert  McCartee  (1821),  John  Ander- 
son (1839),  Richard  W.  Dickinson  (1840),  and  Hugh 
Carpenter,  after  whose  dismission  the  church  was  dis- 
solved. 

In  the  Duane  Street  Church,  organized  in  1808,  but 
occupying  for  several  years  a  house  of  worship  on 
Cedar  Street  between  William  and  Nassau,  John  B. 
Romeyn  commenced  his  labors  with  the  organization 
of  the  church.  He  was  the  son  of  Dr.  Romeyn,  pastor 
of  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church  of  Schenectady,  and, 
after  completing  his  classical  studies  at  Columbia  Col- 
lege and  his  theological  with  Dr.  Livingston  and  his 
own  father,  received  a  call  to  the  Reformed  Dutch 
Church  of  Rhinebeck,  where  he  labored  for  four  years, 
after  which  he  was  invited  to  the  charge  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  of  Schenectady.  He  remained  here 
but  a  single  year,  when  (1804)  he  accepted  a  call  to 
the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Albany.  Here  he 
remained  until  called  to  New  York  in  1808.  Both  at 
Schenectady  and  Albany  he  w^ell  sustained  the  high 
expectations  which  his  first  appearance  in  the  pulpit 
awakened,  and  in  his  new  sphere  of  labor  he  soon 
gathered  around  him  one  of  the  largest  and  most 
respectable  congregations  in  the  city.  An  apt  scholar, 
a  great  reader,  of  quick  perception  and  exquisite  taste, 
of  ardent  feelings  and  great  frankness  of  manner,  he 
was  a  man  to  conciliate  affection  as  well  as  command 


NEW    YORK.,    1S16-1S30.  251 

respect.  Of  compact  and  well-proportioned  frame, 
though  of  spare  habit,  his  nervous  temperament,  ex- 
pressive countenance,  ready  utterance,  graceful  but 
rapid  motions,  as  well  as  the  animation  which  beamed 
from  his  fine,  intelligent  eye,  sufficiently  indicated  the 
peculiar  characteristics  of  his  genius.  There  was 
nothing  uncertain  or  vacillating  in  his  manner,^  nothing 
sluggish  or  slow  in  his  composition.  His  opinions  were 
clearly  conceived  and  boldly  expressed.  His  purposes 
Avere  promptl}^  formed  and  vigorously  executed.  What- 
ever he  did,  he  did  with  his  might.  His  devotion  to  his 
ministerial  duties  was  unremitted.  As  a  social  com- 
panion he  was  cheerful  and  genial,  without  the  aid  of 
jest  or  witticism,  and,  though  neither  a  rhetorician  nor 
logician,  neither  a  metaphysician  nor  a  profound  thinker, 
the  ardor  of  his  thought  glowed  with  the  enthusiasm 
of  his  feelings.  His  printed  discourses  will  scarcely 
sustain  his  pulpit-reputation.^  To  his  impassioiied, 
rapid,  earnest,  and  impressive  utterance  their  popu- 
larity was  largely  due.  No  subtle  processes  of  rea- 
soning, no  delicate  touches  of  fancy  or  flights  of  ima- 
gination, no  splendid  diction  or  elaborate  rhetoric,  lent 
them  their  charm,  but  rather  the  vivacity,  energy, 
pathos,  naturalness,  and  sincerity  of  his  manner, — his 
very  soul  speaking  through  the  body  that  trembled 
with  emotion  or  erected  itself  in  the  attitude  of  au- 
thority, while  every  line  of  his  face  was  instinct  with 
passion,  and  his  eye,  kindled  or  tearful,  seemed  by  its 
look  to  thrill  the  hearer  with  j-esponding  emotion.  For 
years  his  house  of  worship  overflowed.  Accessions  to 
the  church — which  while  under  his  charge  might  be 
considered  a  model  church — were  numerous  and  fre- 
quent. 

After  his  death  (1825),  at  the  age  of  fifty-two  years, 

^  Sprngue,  iv.  222.     •^  Two  octavo  volumes  were  published  in  1816. 


252  HISTORY   OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

he  was  succeeded  by  Cyrus  Mason  in  1826.  The  pastors 
of  the  church  subsequent  to  the  resignation  (1835)  of 
the  latter  have  been  Dr.  George  Potts  (1836),  and  Dr. 
James  W.  Alexander  (1844-49). 

In  1811  the  Laight  Street  Church  was  organized,  and 
Dr.  M.  L.  R.  Perrine  was  installed  its  pastor.  In  1820 
he  was  succeeded  by  Dr.  S.  11.  Cox,  and  ixa  1835  by  Flavel 
S.  Mines,  whose  pastorate  closed  in  1840.  In  1848,  owing 
mainly  to  pecuniary  embarrassments  and  difficulties,  the 
church  was  dissolved. 

The  Seventh  Presbyterian  Church,  in  a  destitute  por- 
tion of  the  city,  was  gathered  by  the  unwearied  energy 
and  devotion  of  Elihu  W.  Baldwin,  and  in  1820  he  was 
installed  its  pastor.  Few  men  have  ever  more  fully 
exemplified  the  virtues  or  the  graces  of  an  apostolic 
ministry.  With  scarcely  one  of  the  gifts  of  genius,  with 
an  exterior  pleasing  and  winning  indeed,  but  far  from 
commanding,  he  had  yet  that  excellence  ascribed  by  a 
political  foe  to  Sir  Walter  Ealeigh  when  he  said  of  him, 
''He  can  toil  terribly."  Possessed  of  a  calm  and  even 
temper,  and  a  spirit  cheerful  and  hopeful  in  the  most 
discouraging  scenes,  and.  while  struggling  against  ob- 
stacles seemingly  insuperable,  "bating  no  jot  of  heart 
or  hope,"  and  never  entertaining  the  thought  of  de- 
serting his  post  for  the  difficulties  which  bound  him  to 
it,  he  accomplished  a  work  which  would  have  conferred 
fame  upon  abilities  and  endowments  far  superior  to  his 
own.  But  his  good  sense,  unwavering  firmness  of  pur- 
pose, steady  loyalty  to  duty,  practical  tact,  and  ready 
sympathy  conspired  to  render  him  "the  right  man  in 
the  right  place."  His  piety  was  unostentatious,  but 
deep  and  fervent;  and  no  showy  exterior  gave  a  coun- 
terfeit promise  of  his  real  worth.  "  None  knew  him 
but  to  love"  him,  or  could  come  in  contact  with  him 
without  feeling  that  he  was  a  man  in  whom  they  could 
confide.    Dr.  Dwight — whom  he  served  for  a  short  time 


NEW    YORK,    1816-1830.  253 

as  an  amanuensis — declared  him  fully  entitled  to  the 
epithet  of  "  the  beloved  disciple  j"  and  the  confidence  and 
respect  of  his  co-presbyters — grounded  on  his  well- 
tried  qualities  of  sound  judgment,  tact,  perseverance, 
and  energy,  as  well  as  his  learning  and  piety — are 
sufficiently  attested  by  their  recommendation  of  him 
in  1835  to  the  post  of  first  President  of  Wabash  Col- 
lege. Duty  alone  extorted  his  consent  to  the  resigna- 
tion of  his  charge.  Like  the  tree  rooted  deeper  by  the 
blasts,  his  attachment  to  his  people  had  been  strength- 
ened by  their  common  experience  of  hardship  and  self- 
denial.  A  rare  success  had  also  crowned  his  labors. 
In  a  single  year  of  his  ministry  his  church  received  an 
accession  of  nearly  two  hundred  members;  and  before 
the  close  of  his  pastorate  it  had  become,  in  spite  of  its 
locality  and  the  discouraging  nature  of  much  of  the 
surrounding  population,  large  and  flourishing.  His 
death  occurred  during  his  Presidency  of  Wabash  Col- 
lege, in  1840.  His  successors  were  Edwin  F.  Hatfield^ 
(1835-55)  and  T.  Ealston  Smith. 

The  Allen  Street  Church  owed  its  existence  largely 
to  the  efforts  of  Eev.  Ward  Staffoi'd  and  Samuel  J. 
Mills,  who  in  the  summer  of  1816  explored  a  large 
and  forbidding  portion  of  the  cit}^  and  succeeded  in 
gathering  a  small  congregation.  The  church  was  or- 
ganized in  1819,  with  twenty-five  members,  and  was 
supplied  till  1827  by  William  Gray,  a  city  missionary. 
His  successors  were  Henry  White, — called  in  1837  to 
the  professorship  of  Theology  in  Union  Theological 
Seminary,  where  he  remained  until  his  death  in  1852, — 
William  Bradley  (1837-39),  George  B.  Cheever  (1839- 
44),  D.  B.  Coe,  George  Thatcher,  and  Dr.  W.  W.  Newell. 

The  Eighth  Presbyterian  Church,  gathered  by  Dr. 

1  After  a  twenty  years'  ministry,  called  to  the  pastorate  of  the 
North  Presbyterian  Church. 
Vol.  II.— 22 


254  HISTORY   OF   PRESBYTERIANISM. 

Stephen  Eowan  in  1819,  had  some  grave  difficulties 
to  contend  with,  and  subsequent  to  the  pastorate  of 
Dr.  Eowan's  successor,  Henry  Hunter  (1831-35),  was 
merged  into  the  new  organization  known  as  Chelsea 
Church,  of  which  Edward  D.  Smith  (1843)  was  installed 
j^astor. 

Of  the  Central  Presbyterian  Church,  gathered  b}'  the 
persevering  labors  of  Rev.  William  Pattou  in  1819,  he 
was  installed  pastor  in  1822,  resigning  his  charge  in 
1834.     His  successors  were  William  Adams  (1834-52), 

A.  A.  Wood,  and Dunn.    The  other  churclies  were — 

Bowery,  subsequently  disbanded,  but  memorable  as  the 
scene  of  the  labors  of  the  lamented  Christmas,  whoso 
successors  were  Woodbridge  and  Dickinson;  the  Spring 
Street  Church,  a  new  organization  formed  out  of  the 
old  congregation  in  1825,  and.  under  the  pastorate  of 
H.  G.  Ludlow  (1828-37),  who  was  succeeded  in  1837  by 
W.  W.  Patton  ;  Union  Church,  organized  1829^  under 
the  pastorate  of  Herman  Norton  (1830-35)5  the  West 
Church,  organized  in  1829,  of  which  David  R.  Downer 
(1832-41),  Edwin  Holt  (1842-46),  Thomas  H.  Skinner, 
Jr.,  and  Thomas  S.  Hastings,  have  been  successively 
pastors;  the  Bleecker  Street  Church,  organized  in  1825, 
of  which  the  pastors  have  been  Matthias  Bruen  (1825— 
29),  Erskine  Mason  (1830-51),  Joel  Parker,  and  Howard 
Crosby;  and  the  First  Free  Presbyterian  Church,  organ- 
ized 1830,  and  under  the  charge  of  Joel  Parker  (1830- 
33),  and  E.  P.  Barrow  (1835-37),  but  in  1838  absorbed 
in  the  Tabernacle  Church. 

The  first  pastor  of  the  Bleecker  Street  Church,  under 
whose  labors  it  was  gathered  in  1825,  was  Matthias 
Bruen.  Of  Puritan  ancestry,  he  was  born  at  Newark, 
N.J.,  April  11,  1793.  Trained  in  a  pious  home,  he  was 
hopefully  converted  in. his  eighteenth  year.     From  his 

J  Dissolved  1838. 


NEW    YORK,   1816-1830.  255 

childhood  he  evinced  an  uncommon  fondness  for  books, 
and  at  the  age  of  fifteen  entered  Columbia  College. 
Graduated  with  high  honor  in  1812,  he  soon  after  com- 
menced his  theological  studies  under  Dr.  John  M.  Mason, 
and  in  ISIG  was  licensed  to  preach  by  the  Classis  of  New 
York.  In  1822,  after  his  return  from  a  voyage  to  Europe, 
he  commenced  his  labors  as  a  city  missionary.  The 
result  was  the  organization  of  the  church  of  Avhich  he 
continued  the  pastor  till  his  early  death  in  1829.  A 
ripe  scholar,  a  chaste  and  elegant  writer,  and  fully 
devoted  to  his  work,  his  defects  as  a  speaker  interfered 
with  his  popularity.  Yet  few  have  ever  commanded 
greater  respect,  or  more  thoroughly  secured  the  esteem, 
confidence,  and  affection  of  their  brethren.^ 

His  successor,  Erskine  Mason,  was  the  j'oungest  child 
of  the  distinguished  John  M.  Mason,  and  Avas  born  in 
New  Y^ork,  April  16,  1805.  While  a  student  in  Dickin- 
son College,  the  sudden  death  of  an  older  brother  pro- 
duced a  deep  impression  upon  his  mind,  which  led  to 
his  conversion.  Graduated  in  1823,  he  pursued  his  theo- 
logical studies,  first  under  the  direction  of  his  cousin, 
Dr.  Duncan,  of  Baltimore,  and  subsequently  at  Princeton 
Theological  Seminary.  In  1827,  he  was  installed  pastor 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Schenectady,  and  three 
years  later  accepted  a  call  to  New  York.  From  1836 
till  1812  he  discharged  the  duties  of  Professor  of  Ec- 
clesiastical History  in  Union  Theological  Seminary. 
His  pastorate  closed  with  his  life,  in  the  meridian  of 
manhood,  May  14,  1851. 

Dignified,  courteous,  kind.  Dr.  Mason  was  the  model 
of  the  Chi'istian  gentleman.  He  was  frank  and  unas- 
suming. Yet  his  intellectual  gifts  were  of  a  high  order. 
His  discourses  were  perhaps  too  metaphysical,  too  much 
devoted  to  arguments  addressed  to  the  reason.   Y'et  some 

1  Sprague,  iv.  543. 


256  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

of  his  appeals  at  the  close  of  his  sermons  Avere  over- 
whelmingly powerful.  Still,  he  was  rather  an  instructive 
than  a  moving  preacher.  His  discourses  were  all  written, 
and  in  his  later  years  he  abandoned  his  earl}'  wemoriter 
method  of  deliveiy,  and  was  even  closely  confined  to 
his  manuscript.  His  style,  while  elegant,  was  vigorous 
and  chaste;  nor  was  he  lacking  in  earnestness  of  utter- 
ance. "A  masculine  imagination  gave  a  glow  and 
warmth  to  his  appeals.  His  demonstrations  were  tre- 
mulous -with  emotion,  and  his  proofs  were  with  power, 
because  they  were  so  earnest  and  sincere."^ 

Joseph  Stibbs  Christmas,  for  only  a  few  months  (Oct. 
1829-March,  1830)  pastor  of  the  Bowery  Church,  was 
born  at  Georgetown,  Beaver  county,  Pa.,  in  1808.  In 
1819, — when  he  had  already  resolved  to  devote  himself 
to  the  ministiy, — he  was  graduated  at  Washington  Col- 
lege, with  the  highest  honors.  Difficulties  interfered 
with  his  pursuit  of  a  theological  course  till  1821,  when 
he  became  a  member  of  Princeton  Seminary.  Licensed 
in  1824  by  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelj^hia,  he  was  im- 
mediately invited  to  the  charge  of  a  church  just  organ- 
ized in  Montreal.  After  a  few  years'  pastorate  his  health 
failed,  and  he  removed  to  New  York.  After  visiting 
New  Orleans  as  agent  of  the  Bible  Society,  and  laboring 
for  a  time  at  Bolton,  Ma^s.,  he  accepted  the  call  to  the 
Boweiy  Church.  Here  he  fell  at  his  post  in  his  twenty- 
seventh  year.  Beautiful  in  person,  courteous  in  manner, 
meek  and  unambitious,  his  social  qualities  endeared  him 
to  all  Avho  enjoyed  his  acquaintance,  w^hile  his  retentive 
memory,  clear,  sound,  and  penetrating  understanding, 
and  manliness  of  intellect  and  sentiment  gave  high  pro- 
mise of  future  eminence.  Studious,  earnest,  and  devoted, 
his  sermons  glow  with  the  fervor  of  a  Christian  spirit 
and  the  appeal  of  ministerial  fidelity. 

^  Sprague,  iv.  708. 


NEW    YORK,    1816-1S30.  257 

The  Colored  Presbyterian  Church  was  Organized 
January  13,  1822,  and  numbered  twenty-four  members. 
For  several  years  it  maintained,  under  the  charge  of 
its  pastor,  Samuel  E.  Cornish,  a  feeble  existence.  Its 
house  of  worship,  erected  on  Elm  Street  near  Canal  at 
a  cost  of  fourteen  thousand  dollars,  passed  out  of  its 
hands;  and  the  failure  of  Mr.  Cornish's  health  led  to  his 
dismissal  in  1828.  His  successor  (1829)  was  a  man  of 
education  and  culture,  a  former  student  at  Princeton, 
and  a  licentiate  of  Albany  Presbytery, — Theodore  S. 
Wright.  Under  his  ministrations  the  structure  of  the 
German  Lutheran  Church  on  the  corner  of  Frankfort 
and  William  Streets  was  secured,  and  for  several  years 
the  church  enjoyed  a  large  measure  of  prosperity. 

The  Synod  of  Albany  at  its  meeting  at  Utica  in  Oc- 
tober, 1818,  set  off  from  the  Presbytery  of  Oneida  that 
of  St.  Lawrence.*  The  Eev.  Messrs.  Jones,  Murdock, 
Isaac  Clinton,  S.  F.  Snowden,  Judath  Highby,  and 
David  Banks,  with  the  congregations  of  Martinsburg 
and  Ogdensburg,  composed  the  new  body,  embracing 
the  counties  of  Jefferson,  Lewis,  and  most  of  St.  Law. 
rence.  The  first  meeting  of  this  body  was  at  Martins- 
burg, Oct.  31,  1816.  In  the  same  3'ear  the  Presbytery 
of  Otsego  was  set  off  from  that  of  Oneida,  and  num- 
bered seven  ministers.  In  January,  1822,^  the  Ogdens- 
burg— afterward  (1828)  St.  Lawrence — Presbytery,  with 
six  ministers,  was  set  off  from  that  of  Champlain,  and 
the  name  of  the  original  St.  Lawrence  Presbytery  was 
changed  (1828)  to  that  of  Watertown.  Oswego  Presby- 
tery, with  five  ministers,  was  set  off  from  that  of  Oneida 
in  1823;  and  in  1829,  when  the  Synod  of  Utica  was 
erected,  it  consisted  of  the  Presbyteries  of  Oneida, 
Watertown,  Otsego,  St.  Lawrence,  and  Oswego. 
At  that  time'  Oneida  had  forty-three  ministers  and 

1  The  Revivalist,  116.  ^Baird's  Digest  gives  the  date  1818. 

«  The  Report  for  1831. 

22* 


258  HISTORY   OF   PRESBYTERIANISM. 

licentiates  and  thirty-eight  churches;  Watertown, 
fifteen  ministers  and  twenty-six  churches;  Otsego,  eight 
ministers  and  fifteen  churches ;  St.  Lawrence,  ten  min- 
isters and  nine  churches;  and  Oswego,  ten  ministers 
and  tweuty-two  churches :  making  a  total,  in  connection 
with  the  Synod,  of  eighty-six  ministers  and  one  hun- 
dred and  ten  churches.^ 

^  As  the  necessary  limits  of  this  work  forbid  the  insertion  of  ex- 
tended details  of  local  interest,  I  have  omitted  in  this  chapter  much 
in  reference  to  the  individual  churches,  which  may  be  found  in  ex- 
tenso  in  Hotchkin's  "  Western  New  York,"  and  have  felt  it  necessary 
to  reduce  to  the  form  of  a  note  what  is  stated  of  the  churches  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Albany.  A  large  number  of  these  are  passed  over 
without  notice,  as  many  of  them  were  indebted  to  missionary  labor 
which  was  not  devoted  to  this  field  to  any  considei-able  extent  before 
1822. 

The  pastors  of  Albany  Presbytery  up  to  1830  were,  at  Albany 
(First  Church),  Eliphalet  Nott  (Oct.  3,  1798-Aug.  4,  1804),  John 
B.  Romeyn  (1804-08),  William  Neill  (1809-16),  A.  J.  Stansbury 
(1817-21),  Henry  R.  Weed  (1822-29),  and  J.  N.  Campbell  (1830- 
64);  at  the  Second  Church,  John  Chester  (1815-29),  and  William 
B.  Sprague  (1829-  );  in  the  Third  Church,  Hooper  Cumming 
(1817-23),  Joseph  Hurlbut  (1823-24),  John  Alburtis  (1825-28),  and 
William  H.  Williams  (1828-30);  at  Charlton,  Joseph  Sweetmau 
(1800-17),  Isaac  W.  Piatt  (1820-25),  and  John  Clancy  (1825-45); 
at  Kingsborough,  Elisha  Yale  (1804-52)  ;  at  Schenectady,  Robert 
Smith,  Jonathan  Edwards,  s.s.  (1801),  John  B.  Romeyn  (1803-04), 
Nathaniel  Todd  (1805-06),  John  Joyce,  s.s.,  Alexander  Monteith 
(1809-15),  Hooper  Cumming  (1815-17),  Walter  Monteith  (1820-26), 
Erskine   Mason  (1826-30),  and  Jonathan  T.  Backus  (Dec.  6,  1832- 

);  at  Ballston,  Joel  Bradley  (1802-12),  Stephen  Porter  (1812-15), 
Reuben  Smith  (1816-25),  and  James  V.  Henry  (1826-29)  ;  at  Gal- 
way,  John  J.  Christie  (1803-12),  Joseph  Farrar  (also  in  charge  of 
Edinburgh,  1818-21),  Adams  W.  Piatt  (1829-33);  at  East  Galway, 
Sylvanus  Haight  (1808-10),  N.  W.  Wells  (1811-18?),  William  Ches- 
ter (1820-23),  S.  Nott  (1823-29),  Rufus  R.  Deming  (1829-32);  at 
New  Scotland,  Thomas  HoUiday  (1807-30) ;  atPrincetown  (formerly 
Currie's  Bush)  and  Duanesburg,  William  Boardman,  Thomas  HoUi- 
day (in  charge  also  of  New  Scotland)  (1816-26),  and  T.  Frazier,  s.s. 
(1830-84?);    at  Amsterdam   (and  Veddersburg),   Halsey  A.  Wood 


NEW    YORK,    1816-1830.  259 

The  Narrative  of  the  Synod  of  Albany  for  1820 
speaks  of  revivals  in  Potsdam  and  Loraine,  Clinton, 
New  Hartford,  Wbitcsboroiigh,  Utica,  Westmoreland, 
Mt.  Vernon,  Litchfield  and  Union,  Cooperstown  and 
Sherburne, — the  converts  in  the  latter  numbering  two 
hundred, — Saratoga  Springs,  Malta,  Stillwater,  Balls- 
ton,  Gahvay,  East  Galway,  Amsterdam  and  Schenec- 
tady,— in  all  which  the  work  had  been  overwhelming, 
— Schaghticoke,  North  Pittstown,  Nassau,  Lansing- 
burg,  and  other  places.  But  these  revivals  were  but 
the  earnest  of  far  more  extended  and  powerful  awaken- 
ings which  took  place  in  this  field  some  eight  or  ten 
years  subsequently,  and  of  which  mention  is  elsewhere 
made.^ 

(1816-25),  succeeded  by  James  Wood  in  1826;  at  Stillwater,  Mark 
Tucker  (1818-24)  and  John  Blatcliford  (1825-29) ;  at  Saratoga 
Springs,  organized  in  1817,  Darius  0.  Griswold  (1822-2S),  and  S. 
H.  Whelpley  (1825-26);  at  Esperance,  organized  in  February,  1818, 
Luke  Lyons  (1824-27) ;  at  Carlisle,  organized  in  1803,  JoelN.  Austin 
(1818-22),  and  Lyman  S.  Rexford;  at  Hadley  and  Lucerne,  received 
in  1823,  Adams  W.  Piatt  (1823-2S?);  at  Westerlo,  Marcus  Smith 
(1823-26)  ;  at  Knox  and  Hamilton  Union,  J.  Judson  Buck  (1825- 
28);  at  Johnstown,  Simon  Hosack  (1790-1832),  and  Gilbert  Mor- 
gan (1826-28);  at  Onesquitbaw,  Thomas  Halliday  (1827-29);  at 
Albany  (Fourth),  E.  N.  Kirk  (1829-38?);  at  Northampton,  and  for 
a  time  at  Edinburgh,  Lebbeus  Armstrong.  Previous  to  1830  the 
churches  of  Mayfield  First  (1823)  and  Second,  Greenbush,  Rensse- 
laerville,  Malta,  Moreau,  Stratford,  and  Ephratah  had  come  under 
the  care  of  Albany  Presbytery.  Greenfield  was  for  a  time  united 
with  Milton,  of  which  the  pastors  were  Jonathan  Hovey  (1816-20), 
Joseph  Bracket  (1821-24),  James  B.  Ambler,  and  Aaron  Garrison 
(1827-29). 

1  In  1816,  a  minister  who  had  vii^ited  the  region  of  which  he 
writes,  speaks  of  the  destitution  of  the  field  in  Northeastern  New- 
York.  "To  the  north,"  he  says,  "as  far  as  the  St.  Lawrence,  and 
east  to  Champlain,  there  are  probably  not  six  gospel  ministers, — an 
extent  of  territory  including  the  quarter  of  the  State  of  New  York, 
with  a  population  of  seventy  or  eighty  thousand  souls,  sitting  com- 
paratively in  a  state  of  darkness  and  death."     Western,  Lee,  Flo- 


260  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

Although  in  the  eastern  portion  of  the  State  the 
growth  of  the  Church  had  been  steady  and  even  rapid, 
its  increase  in  the  central  and  western  parts  had  been 
far  more  remarkable.  The  most  signal  advance  was 
indeed  in  that  region  which  at  the  commencement  of 
the  century  had  invited  the  combined  missionary  ener- 
gies of  the  State  societies  and  the  General  Assembly. 

In  1815,  there  were  not  far  from  one  hundred  churches 
in  what  was  then  known  as  Western  New  York,  under 
the  care  of  Presbyteries.  In  the  fifteen  years  which 
followed,  the  number  was  multiplied  not  far  from 
threefold.  In  1815,  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  at 
Rochester  was  organized,  and  the  church  at  Le  Roy  at 
about  the  same  time.  In  1816  and  1817,  those  of  Cicero, 
Camillus,  West  Groton,  Clarkson,  Oiwille,  Lysander, 
Genoa  Second,  Palmyra,  Waterloo,  Ludlowville,  New- 
field,  Owego,  Pulteney,Lewiston,  Clarence,  Alden,  Ham- 
burg, Portland,  and  Pembroke  had  been  organized,  and 
most  of  them  were  received  under  the  care  of  Presby- 
teries. To  this  list  of  new  churches  there  were  added 
previous  to  1820,  as  near  as  can  be  ascertained,  those  of 
Wolcott,  Scott,  Reading,  Sweden,  East  Aurora,  Evans, 
Concord,  Sheridan,  Jamestown,  Byron,  Batavia,  Shel- 
don First,  China,  and  Moscow  in  1818;  those  of  Cayuga 
Village,  Chili,  Wilson,  Lancaster,  West  Aurora,  Alex- 
ander, Gainesville,  Pike,  Groveland,  and  Sparta  First 
in  1819;    and  in   1820  those  of  Liverpool,  Peruville, 

rence,  Camden,  Bengal,  Ellisburg,  Richland,  Rotterdam,  and  Os- 
wego, some  of  them  "populous  towns,"  and  "all  of  them  able  to 
support  the  gospel,"  were  wholly  destitute  of  a  regular  ministry. — 
Christian  Herald,  iMarch,  1816. 

A  little  later  a  missionary  writes,  "We  could  not  find  one  min- 
ister settled  in  the  counties  of  AVarren  or  Essex  ;  in  Clinton,  only 
two  ;  in  Franklin,  two ;  in  St.  Lawrence,  we  could  not  hear  of  any ; 
there  are  very  few  on  the  Black  River."  To  a  population  of  one 
hundred  thousand  he  estimated  that  there  were  but  ten  or  twelve 
regularly  ordained  ministers. — Christian  Herald,  April,  1816. 


NEW   YORK,    1S16-1830.  261 

South  Dansville,  Eoyalton,  Knowlesville,  Barre  Center, 
"Wales,  Eden,  Ripley,  Portage,  and  others. 

From  1820  to  1825  the  increase  of  new  churches  was 
equally  rapid.  During  this  period  more  than  fifty  were 
organized.  Among  those  most  worthy  of  mention  are 
the  Brick  Presbyterian  Church  of  Rochester,  the 
churches  of  Lockport  (1823),  Preston,  Salina,  Scipio 
Second,  Penn  Yan  (1823),  Wolcott,  Newark,  Union, 
Conklin,  Mead's  Creek,  Southport,  Wheeler,  Murray, 
Wheatland,  Mendon,  Somerset,  Porter,  Gaines,  Niagara 
Falls,  Ellicottsville,  Stockton,  Westfield,  Napoli,  Conne- 
wango,  Mayville,  Attica,  AVyoming,  Sheldon  Second, 
Ossian,  Centerville,  Black  Creek,  Olcan,  Andover,  &c. 

In  the  five  years  which  followed,  from  1825  to  1830, 
from  thirty  to  fifty  new  churches  are  reported  as  or- 
ganized; among  them,  those  of  Sjn-acuse,  Albion,  Cuba, 
Lodi,  Rochester  Third,  Havanna,  Otselic,  Portageville, 
Allen,  Dunkirk,  West  Otto,  Ellington,  Covington,  York 
Second,  Parma,  North  Bci-gen,  Big  Flats,  Jasper,  Bur- 
det,  Jordan,  Auburn  Second,  and  Weedsport. 

Western  New  York  furnished  the  chief  field  for  the 
operations  of  the  United  Domestic  Missionary  Society 
from  the  time  of  its  formation,  in  1822,  until  1826,  when 
it  was  merged  in  the  American  Home  Missionary  So- 
ciety. Of  its  eighty  missionaries,  at  the  latter  date, 
nearly  all  were  scattered  among  the  new  churches  and 
destitute  settlements  of  this  region.  Yet,  as  the  churches 
increased  in  strength  and  numbers,  they  joined  in  repay- 
ing, for  the  benefit  of  other  fields,  what  thoj  had  so 
liberally  received  for  their  own.  The  missionary  so- 
cieties Avhich  sprang  up  in  the  East  were  not  left  to 
stand  alone.  Churches,  counties,  and  Presbj^teries  co. 
operated  in  behalf  of  the  great  interests  of  the  caus«, 
of  Christ.  Missionary  and  education  societies  were* 
formed,  whose  funds — the  gifts  of  poverty — steadil}^ 
increased.     A  variety  of  educational  institutions  were 


262  HISTORY   OF   PRESBYTERIANISM. 

founded  and  fostered, — conspicuous  among  them,  Hamil- 
ton College  and  Auburn  Seminary. 

In  1815,  and  for  several  succeeding  years,  the  Con- 
necticut Missionary  Society  had  in  its  employ  from 
three  to  five  laborers  annually  in  the  western  portion 
of  the  State.  They  devoted,  however,  only  a  portion 
of  their  time  to  itinerant  labor.  "  Father"  Spencer  ex- 
ercised a  general  supervision  over  the  field.  In  1818, 
there  were  in  connection  with  him  three  other  mission- 
aries employed.  David  M.  Smith,  pastor  at  Lewiston 
on  the  Niagara,  David  Dudley  Field,  for  twenty  weeks 
in  the  region  bordering  on  Lake  Ontario,  and  Eleazar 
Fairbanks,  on  the  Holland  Purchase,  were  his  co- 
laborers.  At  this  time,  in  the  tract  extending  from 
Oswego  to  Niagara  River,  and  from  the  Great  Western 
Road  to  Lake  Ontario, — a  tract  forty  miles  wide  by  one 
hundred  and  fifty  long, — there  were  forty  Presbyterian 
and  Congregational  churches,  one-half  of  which  had 
been  formed  during  the  preceding  three  years.  In  con- 
nection with  all  upon  this  field  there  were  but  fifteen 
pastors  (or  stated  suj)plies),  many  of  them  having 
charge  of  at  least  two  churches. 

In  1815,  Batavia  had  become  "  a  flourishing  village." 
There  was  a  small  Congregational  church  in  the  town, 
although  but  a  single  professing  Christian  in  the  village, 
Rochester,  which  in  1812  could  boast  but  fifteen  inhab- 
itants, had  attained  in  1815  to  three  hundred  and  thirty- 
one;  and  in  that  year  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  was 
organized,  with  sixteen  members.  But  neither  they  nor 
any  other  denomination  had  a  place  of  worship.  Buf- 
falo was  likewise  a  mere  village,  and  had  no  church- 
edifice  within  its  bounds.  Yet  a  congregation  had  been 
gathered,  to  which  Miles  P.  Squier,  at  the  urgent  and 
almost  authoritative  advice  of  Dr.  Backus,  of  Hamilton 
College,  had  commenced  his  ministrations  a  few  months 
previous.     The  court-house,  although  in  an  unfinished 


NEW   YORK,   1S16-1830.  263 

state,  with  temporary  benches  for  seats  and  the  floor 
as  yet  unlaid,  was  used  for  public  worship. 

The  fifteen  years  which  followed  wrought  a  striking 
change.  At  Rochester,  Comfort  Williams  was  installed 
January  17, 1816,  although  the  services  were  performed 
in  an  unfinished  store.  In  the  following  year  a  house 
of  worship,  forty  feet  by  fifty,  was  erected,  which  was 
replaced  in  1824  by  the  present  one,  eighty-four  by 
sixty-five  feet.  Meanwhile  the  original  church  had 
dismissed  (1817)  nine  members  to  form  the  nucleus  of 
Brighton  Church,  and  in  1825  the  Second  (Brick)  Pres- 
byterian Church  was  organized  by  a  colony  of  twenty 
members  from  the  First,  and  shortly  after  the  same 
number  were  dismissed  with  a  view  to  form  a  Third 
Church.  Yet  in  1830  the  original  church,  over  which 
Joseph  Penny  (1822-32)  had  been  settled  as  successor 
of  Mr.  Williams,  numbered  over  four  hundred  mem- 
bers, while  the  Third  fell  but  little  short,  and  the 
Second  reported  over  two  hundred.^ 

A  strong  church,  meanwhile,  had  been  gathered  at 
Buff'alo,^  where  Mr.  Squier  had  been  succeeded  by  Syl- 
vester Eaton.  But  it  was  not  till  the  completion  of 
the  Erie  Canal  in  1825  that  the  place  received  the  im- 
pulse to  which  it  had  been  indebted  for  its  subsequent 
prosperity.  In  about  1834-35  the  Pearl  Street  Church 
was  organized,  and  John  C.  Lord  was  called  to  the 
pastorate.' 

1  la  1836,  Bethel  Free  Chm-ch — now  Central  Presbyterian — was 
organized;  in  December,  1853,  St.  Peter's  Church;  and  in  1855, 
Plymouth  Congregational  Church. 

2  Buffalo  was  laid  out  originally  in  1801,  but  gave  little  promise 
of  its  future  until  1825,  when  the  opening  of  the  Erie  Canal  made 
it  the  gateway  from  the  Great  "Valley  to  the  Atlantic  States. — Eighty 
Years'  Progress,  i.  176. 

3  The  Free  Church  was  formed  at  about  the  same  time,  and  in 
1837  George  R.  Rudd  was  stated  supply.     The  Park  Church,  or- 


264  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

The  Narrative  of  the  Synod  of  Geneva  for  1819  was 
of  a  most  cheering  character.^    Revivals,  some  of  them 

ganized  about  1839,  with  Luther  H.  Angier  for  pastor,  numbered  in 
18J0  a  membership  of  sixty-six,  and  in  1843,  of  two  hundred  and 
twenty-one.  In  1845-46,  La  Fayette  Street  Church  was  formed,  Dr. 
G.  W.  Heacock,  pastor.  In  1849,  the  North  Church  reported  a 
membership  of  one  hundred  and  sixty-three,  while  during  the  pre- 
ceding year  twenty-three  had  been  received  on  examination  and 
one  hundred  and  forty-eight  by  certificate.  Rev.  Dr.  A.  T.  Chester 
became  during  the  year  the  pastor  of  this  church.  Dr.  A.  T.  Hop- 
kins, in  the  First  Church  (1835-47),  was  succeeded  (1848)  by  M. 
L.  P.  Thompson,  who  after  a  pastorate  of  about  eleven  years  re- 
moved to  Cincinnati. 

1  In  1817  there  were  powerful  revivals  within  the  bounds  of  the 
Synod  of  Geneva.  In  Homer  there  were  reported  one  hundred  and 
fifty-five  conversions,  and  one  hundred  and  five  additions  to  the 
Church  ;  in  Locke,  one  hundred  and  seventy  conversions,  and  sixty 
additions;  in  Palmyra,  one  hundred  and  twenty-six  conversions, 
and  one  hundred  and  six  additions ;  while  similar  revivals  to  a 
greater  or  less  extent  prevailed  in  Cazenovia,  Pompey  Hill,  Otisco, 
Ithaca,  Romulus,  Lyons,  Wolcott,  Victor,  Livonia,  and  Middlesex. 
Something  of  a  work  of  grace  prevailed  also  in  Pompey,  Onondaga, 
Geneva,  Gainesville,  Bloomfield,  Rochester,  Butfalo,  Hamburg,  Eden, 
Willinck,  and  Pomfret.  Many  new  congregations  were  organized 
during  the  year,  and  the  demand  was  urgent  for  more  ministers. — 
Christian  Herald,  iii.  104. 

Ithaca  Church,  with  twenty  members  in  1816,  received  in  the 
course  of  the  year  ninety  additions.  Genoa  reported  forty-four, 
Lansing,  sixty,  Aurelius,  sixly-nine,  and  Auburn,  two  hundred  and 
ten. 

At  Camillus,  as  the  result  of  a  revival,  a  church  was  constituted 
of  about  one  hundred  membei's.  —  Ibid.  v.  21,  29. 

It  was  in  immediate  connection  with  these  revivals  that  Auburn 
Theological  Seminary  originated.  In  June,  1818,  the  committee 
appointed  to  consider  the  matter  met  at  Auburn  and  appointed  a 
meeting  of  the  Synod  at  that  place  in  the  ensuing  autumn.  One 
hundred  and  ten  persons  were  present,  including  the  President  of 
Hamilton  College,  and  Dr.  McAuley,  (hen  of  Schenectady.  Tne 
resolution — with  the  conditions  provided — in  favor  of  the  institu- 
tion and  its  location,  were  passed  with  a  single  dissenting  vote. — 
Ibid.  383. 


NEW    YORK,    1816-1S30.  265 

of  remarkable  power,  had  been  enjoyed  in  many  of  the 
churches  of  nearly  every  Presbytery.  In  connection 
with  the  Synod  were  ninety-two  ordained  ministers 
and  eleven  licentiates.  It  had  under  its  care  one  hun- 
dred and  forty-three  churches,  embracing  more  than 
seven  thousand  communicants. 

The  increase  in  the  number  of  its  churches  and  min- 
istei'S  was  pronounced  to  be  almost  "without  a  paral- 
lel." In  the  autumn  of  1805  the  Presbytery  of  Geneva 
— then  covering  the  entire  field  of  the  Synod  with 
its  eight  Presbyteries — was  formed,  consisting  of  only 
three  ministers  and  perhaps  eight  or  ten  small  Pres- 
byterian churches.  In  a  little  over  thirteen  years  its 
ministers  had  been  multiplied  thirty  and  its  churches 
fifteen  fold. 

By  1821,  the  Synod  of  Geneva  had  become  so  large 
as  to  render  a  division  expedient,  and  the  Synod  of 
Genesee  was  erected  out  of  a  portion  of  it.  The 
churches  numbered  not  far  from  one  hundred  and  fifty, 
while  their  membership  had  increased  to  nearly  ten 
thousand.  The  Presbyteries  of  Niagara,  Genesee, 
Rochester,  and  Ontario  composed  the  new  Synod,  with 
between  fort}^  and  fifty  ministers,  seventy-five  churches, 
and  in  connection  with  them  a  membership  of  over  two 
thousand.  In  1823,  the  Presbytery  of  Buffalo,  with  six 
ministers  and  twenty-three  churches,  was  formed  b}^  a 
division  of  Niagara;  and  in  1825,  the  churches  under 
the  care  of  the  two  Synods  numbered  over  two  hundred. 
Such  had  been  the  remarkable  increase  during  a  single 
quarter  of  a  century  in  a  region  which  in  1800  num- 
bered scarcely  more  than  a  half-dozen  feeble  churches. 

In  1818  the  Synod  of  Geneva,  embracing  Central  and  AVestern 
New  York,  reported  six  Presbyteries,  eighty-two  ministers,  and  one 
hundred  and  sixteen  churches.  Twenty  ministers  and  seventeen 
hundred  and  ninety-one  communicants  had  been  added  during  the 
preceding  year. — [hid.  20. 

Vol.  II.— 23 


2UG  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

In  1825,  the  Presbytery  of  Cortland  wns  erected;  in 
1826,  that  of  Chenango;  in  1828,  that  of  Angelica;  and 
in  1829,  that  of  Tioga.  In  the  same  year  the  Synod  of 
Utica  was  formed,  embracing,  as  has  been  stated,  the 
Presbyteries  of  St.  Lawrence,  Watei'town,  Oswego, 
Oneida,  and  Otsego,  in  connection  with  which  were 
ninety  ministers  and  one  hundred  and  five  churches, 
with  a  membership  of  nearly  eleven  thousand.  At  this 
period  the  Synod  of  Geneva,  with  the  Presbyteries  of 
Chenango,  Cortland,  Onondaga,  Cayuga,  Tioga,  Geneva, 
Bath,  and  Angelica,  embraced  one  hundred  and  thirty- 
four  ministers  and  more  than  one  hundred  and  sixty 
churches,  with  a  membership  of  not  far  from  thirteen 
thousand  five  hundred.  The  Synod  of  Genesee,  Avith 
its  five  Presbyteries  already  mentioned,  embraced 
seventy-six  ministers  and  one  hundred  and  eleven 
churches,  with  a  membership  of  about  five  thousand 
three  hundred.  Thus,  in  1830,  Central  and  Western 
New  York  contained  three  Synods,  eighteen  Presby- 
teries, three  hundred  ministers,  and  nxore  than  three 
hundred  and  seventy-five  churches,  with  a  membership 
of  about  thirty  thousand.  In  this  field  alone,  in  less 
than  the  lifetime  of  a  single  generation,  the  Presby- 
terian churches  had  increased  in  numbers  and  strength 
till  they  nearl}^  equalled  the  entii'e  Church  in  1801, — 
as  represented  by  the  Assembly  by  which  the  Plan  of 
Union  was  formed. 

Previous  to  the  period  now  under  review,  the  churches 
of  Central  New  York  had  given  evidence  of  their  deep 
interest  in  the  cause  of  learning.  Hamilton  Oneida 
Academy  was  incorporated  by  the  Eegents,  January 
31,  1793,  mainly  through  the  exertions  of  Eev  Samuel 
Kirkland,  for  more  than  forty  years  a  missionary  among 
the  Oneida  Indians.  By  him  the  trustees  of  the  infant 
institution  were  generously  presented  with  the  title- 
deed    to    several    hundred    acres  of  land      In   175^4,  a 


NEW    YORK,    1816-1S30.  267 

commodious  building  was  erected,  the  corner-stone  of 
Avhich  was  laid  by  Baron  Steuben.  The  school  was 
opened  the  same  year  under  Eev.  John  Niles,  whose 
successors  were  Eev.  Eobert  Porter,  Seth  Norton,  and 
Eev.  James  Eobbins,  all  of  them,  as  well  as  Kirkland, 
graduates  of  Yale  College,  and,  it  is  believed,  well  fitted 
to  foster  the  interests  of  sound  learning  and  Christian 
morals.^ 

For  eighteen  years  the  academy  existed,  and  attained 
to  a  high  degree  of  prosperity.  But  with  the  growth 
of  the  neighboring  settlements,  and  the  rapid  develop- 
ment of  Western  Xew  York,  the  necessity  was  felt  for 
an  institution  which  should  afford  more  ample  facilities 
for  instruction  and  a^more  extended  course  of  study. 
Clinton  and  Fairfield  became  competitors  for  its  loca- 
tion, and  college  charters  of  similar  character  and  con- 
ditions were  granted  to  each.  By  a  compromise  between 
the  friends  of  the  rival  locations,  Clinton  secured  to 
itself  the  coveted  honor.  The  institution,  bearing  the 
name  of  Hamilton  College,  was  chartered  May  26,  1812, 
and  Dr.  Azel  Backus,  eminent  as  a  preacher  and  a  scholar, 
as  well  as  the  successor  of  Dr.  Bellamy  at  Bethlem,  Conn., 

1  lu  1793,  Samuel  Kirkland,  missionary  to  the  Indians,  devoted  a 
large  share  of  his  property  towards  "laying  the  foundation  and 
supporting  an  academy  contiguous  to  the  Oneida  nation  for  the 
mutual  benefit  of  the  early  settlers  of  the  country,  and  the  various 
tribes  of  confederate  Indians."  After  consultation  with  General 
Washington,  who  was  at  that  time  an  owner  of  lands  in  this  vicinity, 
and  with  other  patriotic  men  of  his  acquaintance,  he  granted  by 
deed  to  Alexander  Hamilton  and  fifteen  others  about  three  hundred 
acres  of  land  in  trust  for  the  purpose  of  building  Hamilton  Oneida 
Academy.  Soon  after,  the  corner-stone  of  the  academy  building 
was  laid  by  Baron  Steuben,  with  fitting  ceremonies.  In  1812  the 
academy  was  incorporated  by  the  Regents  of  the  University,  as  Ham- 
ilton College. — Exercises  at  the  Inauguration  of  President  Fisher,  p.  7. 
In  December  of  the  same  year  Dr.  Azel  Backus  was  inaugurated  the 
first  President  of  the  institution. 


268  lllSTOKY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

was  chosen  the  fii'st  President.  Upon  his  death  in  De- 
cember, 1817,  Dr.  Henry  Davis,^  President  for  the  pre- 
vious eight  years  of  Middlebury  College,  was  elected 
his  successor,  and  occupied  the  post  until  his  resignation 
in  1833.^ 

1  President  Davis  was  a  native  of  East  Hampton,  Long  Island,  and 
his  pai'ents  were  members  of  Dr.  Buell's  church.  He  was  a  graduate 
of  Yale  College  in  the  class  of  1796,  and  immediately  after  his  gra- 
duation was  elected  tutor  in  AVilliams  College.  Two  years  later, 
after  being  licensed  to  preach  by  the  Tolland  Association,  he  was 
chosen  tutor  in  Yale  College,  and  in  1801  was  appointed  to  the  Pro- 
fessorship of  Divinity  in  the  same  institution.  This,  the  state  of  his 
health  forced  him  to  decline,  and  in  1806  he  accepted  a  call  to  the 
Professorship  of  the  Greek  Language  in  Union  College.  In  1809  he 
entered  upon  the  Presidency  of  Middlebury  College,  where  he  re- 
mained till  1817.     His  death  occurred  at  Clinton  in  1852. 

2  The  successors  of  President  Davis  have  been  Sereno  E.  Dwight 
in  1833,  Joseph  Penny  in  1835,  Simeon  North  in  1839,  and  Samuel 
Ware  Fisher  in  1858.  The  lack  of  a  sufficient  endowment  has  been 
a  serious  obstruction  to  the  full  success  and  efficiency  of  the  institu- 
tion. Its  prosperity  was,  moreover,  seriously  affected  by  dissensions 
between  the  trustees  and  the  Presidents,  from  1819  to  1832,  and 
during  the  same  period  insubordination  among  the  students  was  not 
infrequent.  From  1838  to  1846,  the  college  received  three  thousand 
dollars  annually  from  the  State ;  but  the  present  constitution,  upon 
going  into  effect,  cut  it  oflF  from  the  balance  previously  appropriated, 
and  the  grant  has  since  been  discontinued.  By  a  free  admission  of 
students  unable  to  pay  tuition-fees,  the  funds  of  the  institution 
were  seriously  affected,  and  the  receipts  from  this  source  reduced  to 
one-fourth  of  their  former  amount.  The  financial  affairs  of  the  col- 
lege, consequently,  became  greatly  embarrassed.  To  the  relief  de- 
manded, and  to  secure  which  special  efforts,  with  flattering  pros- 
pects of  success,  have  been  made,  the  institution  is  well  entitled. 
Many  of  the  ministers  of  Central  New  York  have  here  received  their 
academical  education. 

The  sum  of  fifty  thousand  dollars  was  granted  by  the  State,  June 
19,  1812,  to  aid  in  the  founding  of  the  college.  William  H.  May- 
nard,  of  Utica,  in  1882,  gave  twenty  thousand  dollars  to  endow  a 
Professorship  of  Law,  and  S.  Newton  Dexter,  of  Whitesborough,  in 
1826,  gave  his  personal  obligations  for  fifteen  thousand  dollars  to 


NKW  voKr;,  1MC-1,S30.  269 

Outside  of  the  cit}'  of  New  York,  some  of  the  leading 
Presbyterian  ministers  of  the  State  during  this  period 
Avere  Ezra  Fisk,  of  Goshen  (1810-33),  John  Johnston, 
of  Newburgh  (1806-55),  David  Porter,  of  Catskill  (1803- 
47),  Seth  Williston,  of  Durham,  Gideon  N.  Judd,  of 
Montgomer}',  N.  8.  Prime,  of  Cambridge,  Samuel  Blatch- 
ford,  of  Lansingburg,  N.  S.  S.  Beman,  of  Troy,  John 
Chester,  of  Albany,  Elisha  Yale,  of  Kingsborough,  Pre- 
sident Nott,  of  Union  College,  Simon  Hosack,  of  Johns- 
town, D.  C.  Lansing,  of  Auburn,  "William  Wisner,  of 
Ithaca,  David  Higgins,  of  Bath,  President  Davis,  of 
Hamilton  College,  Henry  Axtell,  of  Geneva,  John  W. 
Adams,  of  Syracuse,  Caleb  Alexander,  of  Onondaga, 
Ebenezer  Fitch,  of  West  Bloomfield,  Miles  P.  Squier, 
of  Buffalo,  and  Joseph  Penny,  of  Eochester,  together 
with  Professors  Eichards,  Peri'ine,  and  Mills,  of  Auburn 
Seminary.* 

In  1801,  Dr.  Alexander  attended  the  commencement 
at  Dartmouth  College,  and  there  became  acquainted  with 
Dr.  Packard,  of  Shelburne,  Mass.  By  his  invitation, 
Dr.  Alexander  was  induced  to  spend  a  few  weeks  with 
him,  while  an  interesting  work  of  grace  was  going 
forward  in  his  parish.  As  the  two  men  were  walking 
past  a  house,  Dr.  P.  said  to  his  companion,  "  There  1  I 
wish  you  would  go  and  talk  with  that  chunk  of  a  boy 
who  stands  by  the  fence  yonder."  Dr.  Alexander  did 
so,  as  faithfully  as  he  could,  never  expecting  to  see  or 
hear  of  him  again.  A  number  of  years  passed,  and  a 
stranger  passing  through  Princeton  called  at  Dr.  Alex- 
ander's study.  He  said,  "You  are  Dr.  Alexander:  do 
you  remember  that  you  spent  a  few  weeks  in  Shelburne, 

endow  a  Professorship  of  the  Greek  and  Latin  Languages.     The  ob- 
servatory was  built  in  1854,  at  a  cost  of  five  thousand  doUars. 

1  For  the  sketches  which  follow,  as  well  as  for  those  of  the  clergy 
of  New  York  City,  I  have  been  very  much  indebted  to  Sprague's 

Annals. 

2.3« 


270  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

Mass.,  many  years  ago  ?"  "  I  do,"  was  the  reply.  ''  Do 
you  remember  that  Dr.  Packard  asked  you  one  morning 
to  talk  with  a  chunk  of  a  boy  that  stood  bj'  the  fence?" 
"The  circumstance,"  replied  Dr.  Alexander,  "  had  long 
been  forgotten,  but  I  now  recall  it  to  mind."  "  That 
chunk  of  a  boy,"  said  the  stranger,  "  was  myself  The 
words  you  spoke  to  me  were  blessed  to  my  spiritual 
good.  I  date  my  conversion  to  that  time.  My  name  is 
Ezra  Fisk.     I  am  pastor  of  a  church  in  Goshen,  N.Y." 

Young  Fisk  pursued  his  studies  preparatory  to  enter- 
ing college  with  Dr.  Packard,  and  in  1809 — after  asso- 
ciating as  a  kindred  spirit  with  Mills  and  Richards,  in 
a  sense  the  originators  of  the  American  Board  of  Mis- 
sions— was  graduated  at  Williams  College.  In  1813,  he 
commenced  a  pastorate  of  upwards  of  twenty  years  at 
Goshen.  Elected  to  the  Professorship  of  Ecclesiastical 
History  in  the  Western  Theological  Seminary,  he  re- 
signed his  charge  (1833),  set  out  for  his  new  field  of 
labor,  but  died  upon  his  journey. 

With  a  fine  person,  a  pleasant  voice,  accurate  and 
distinct  utterance,  varied  and  enlivened  by  special  em- 
phasis, he  was  an  acceptable  and  graceful  speaker.  In 
the  pulpit,  his  air  was  solemn,  and  at  times  earnest  and 
tender.  A  careful  student,  he  presented  the  truth  in 
its  clearest  outline  to  the  understanding,  rarely  rising 
'to  any  flights  of  imagination,  and  never  sinking  to  any 
thing  commonplace.  As  a  friend  he  was  kind-hearted 
and  affectionate,  as  a  critic  keen  and  discriminating,  as 
a  counsellor  eminently  judicious,  and  as  a  pastor  scru- 
pulously faithful  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties. 

Somewhere  about  the  year  1798,  a  youth,  with  an 
ardent  desire  to  secure  himself  an  education,  had  en- 
gaged, in  order  to  procure  funds, — on  his  father's  death 
and  with  his  mother's  consent, — to  sell  a  portion  of  the 
stock  on  the  farm  where  he  had  labored  as  a  boy  for 
several  years.  Having  driven  the  cattle  into  the  counties 


NEW    YORK,    1S16-1S30.  271 

of  Dutchess  and  Wt'stcliestcr,  he  stopped  on  his  way 
home  at  Yorktown  to  spend  the  night.  Before  light 
in  the  morning,  he  was  walked  b}'  two  little  boys  in  a 
trundle-bed  near  him,  talking  about  God,  and  asking 
whether  he  could  see  them, — whether  he  could  see  them 
in  the  dark,  could  see  them  if  the}^  covered  their  heads 
with  a  blanket,  &c.  The  conversation  arrested  his  at- 
tention, and  upon  his  mind,  then  oppressed  by  a  sense 
of  his  solitude  as  a  stranger,  as  well  as  perhaps  by  the 
death  of  his  father,  a  deep  and  enduring  impression  was 
made.  His  chai'acter  and  purpose  were  decided  by  the 
trivial  incident.  He  became  a  minister  of  the  gospel, 
and  forty  years  afterward  narrated  the  incident  as 
illustrative  of  the  important  influence  of  seemingly 
unimportant  events.  Among  his  hearers — for  it  was 
at  a  dinner-party  during  the  meeting  of  the  Synod  of 
New  York — there  was  present  a  gentleman  who,  on  in- 
quiring w4ien  and  where  the  circumstances  occurred, 
said,  with  quivering  lips  and  eyes  filled  with  tears,  "I 
am  one  of  those  two  little  boys,  and  am  here  as  a  ruling 
elder  in  the  Presbyterian  Church."  The  minister  was 
Dr.  Johnston,  of  Newburgh. 

After  his  graduation  at  Princeton,  he  commenced  his 
theological  studies  with  President  Smith,  and,  on  the 
burning  of  the  college  edifice  and  library,  crossed 
the  AUeghanies,  and  spent  nearly  two  years  with  Dr. 
McMillan  in  completing  his  theological  course.  In 
1807,  at\er  having  been  engaged  as  a  teacher,  and 
spending  some  time  in  the  supply  of  vacant  churches 
in  the  bounds  of  the  Presbytery,  he  was  settled  at  New 
Windsor  and  Newburgh, — in  and  after  1810  confining 
his  labors  to  the  latter  place.  At  the  time  of  his  set- 
tlement, the  town  was  the  hotbed  of  infidelity.  The 
leading  politicians,  lawj'ers,  and  physicians  were  avowed 
disciples  of  Tom  Paine.     That  Avretched  apostate  and 


J.i'Ji  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

apostle  of  infidelity,  "  Blind  Palmer,"^  received  here  a 
cordial  welcome  from  "  The  Society  of  the  Ancient 
Druids."  Religion,  it  need  hardly  be  said,  was  in  an 
exceedingly  languishing  condition,  and  the  Church  was 
in  any  thing  but  a  promising  state.  Yet  Dr.  Johnston 
lived  to  see  the  barren  waste  bloom  like  a  garden  of  the 
Lord,  and  again  and  again  was  he  permitted  to  witness 
large  and  blessed  harvests.  Five  successive  revivals 
prevailed  during  the  period  from  1812  to  1831,  and 
added  largely  to  the  strength  and  efficiency  of  the 
Churcb.  The  transformation  wrought  Avas  largely  due 
to  the  fidelity  of  his  labors. 

With  nothing  that  could  be  denominated  eloquence 
or  profound  leai'ning,  and  discarding,  moreover,  all  the 
arts  of  the  polemic,  he  devoted  himself,  in  a  plain, 
simple,  earnest  way,  to  the  preaching  of  the  gospel, — 
which  he  thoroughly  understood.  He  never  affected 
a  show  of  logic  or  metaphysical  refinement,  but  dealt 
rather  in  pungent  appeal  and  tender  entreaty.  Out 
of  the  pulpit,  he  was  the  model  of  dignified  affability; 
and,  with  his  warm  heart,  genial  temper,  quick  sympa- 
thies, and  a  liveliness  of  conversation  enriched  some- 
times by  playful  anecdote  and  at  others  by  pious  re- 
mark, he  was  everywhere  w^elcome,  and  by  the  bedside 
of  the  sick,  or  amid  the  sorrows  of  the  poor  and  afflicted, 
or  in  the  innocent  social  gathering,  his  presence  Avas 
sure  of  a  cordial  greeting.  With  a  rare  antiquarian 
taste,  he  had  accumulated,  through  a  long  course  of 
years,  a  mass  of  biographical  and  historical  facts,  of 
local  or  of  general  interest;  and  his  memory  must  have 
been  a  rare  thesaurus  of  biographical  incident  and  stu- 
dious observation.  His  reverence  for  ecclesiastical  courts 
Avas  extreme.  He  seemed  to  regard  the  General  As- 
sembl}^  as  the  most  august  convention  of  men  in  the 

'  Who  figures  iu  Gx'aut  Thorburn's  Reminiscences. 


NEW    YORK,   1816-1830.  273 

wide  world;  and  when  he  was  informed  of  his  election 
as  a  Director  of  tlie  Princeton  Seminary,  tlie  perturbing 
flutter  which  it  occasioned  was  not  a  little  amusing, 
when  narrated  by  himself  Perhaps  beyond  most  of 
his  contemporaries  he  might  have  sat  for  Goldsmith's 
limning  of  the  Village  Pastor, — 

"  Who  ne'er  had  changed  nor  wished  to  change  his  place." 

A  far  different  man  was  Dr.  David  Porter,  of  Cats- 
kill,  a  man  of  real  genius,  of  great  intellectual  power, 
and  of  most  unquestionable  piety.  A  graduate  of  Dart- 
mouth College  in  1784,  the  pastor  at  Spencertown  from 
1787  to  1803  and  at  Catskill  from  1803  to  1831,  he  sur- 
vived the  demission  of  his  pastorate  twenty  years,  and 
died  at  the  ripe  age  of  fourscore  years  and  ten.  A  Con- 
gregationalist  by  education,  he  became  a  Presbyterian 
from  choice  and  conviction,  feeling  the  importance  of  a 
Session  for  the  administration  of  discipline.  As  a  pastor 
he  was  eminently  faithful,  ever  realizing  the  solemn 
responsibility  of  his  oflice.  His  discernment  was  quick 
and  keen,  his  discrimination  accurate,  his  judgment 
sound,  and  his  reasoning  faculties  of  a  high  order.  In 
dealing  with  cases  of  conscience  or  practical  difficulties, 
his  course  was  eminently  judicious.  In  the  pulj^it  he 
gave  ample  proof  of  his  vigorous  intellect,  and  his  style 
and  manner  of  speaking  were  characteristic  of  his 
strong,  original  mind,  and  adapted  to  make  a  deep  im- 
pression. He  scorned  the  ornaments  of  a  flowery 
rhetoric  or  fascinating  imagery.  All  was  clear,  concise, 
forcible,  perspicuous.  His  earnestness  and  sincerity 
were  transparent. 

Few  men  were  ever  more  revered  or  loved.  The 
children  regai'ded  him  as  a  superior  being.  One  speaks 
of  having  alwaj^s  associated  him  with  the  highest  peak 
of  the  Catskills.  Another  had  confused  and  very  in- 
terchangeable  ideas  of  Dr.  Porter   and   the    Saviour. 


27-i  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

But,  with  years,  reverence  ripened  into  affection,  though 
his  presence  never  lost  its  impressivcness.  With  a  head 
like  the  First  Napoleon's,  a  short  neck,  a  hody  large  and 
fleshy,  and  legs  unusually  small,  his  uniform  practice 
was  to  carry  a  large  caue  j  and  it  is  not  strange  that,  as 
he  walked  abroad,  his  very  appearance,  as  avcII  as  his 
quick,  nervous,  and  even  awkward  motions,  tended  to 
arrest  attention.  If  asked  to  descrihe  him,  those  who 
knew  him  well  would  reply  that  he  could  not  be  de- 
scribed. '-You  cannot  put  him  into  words.  He  is  the 
oddest  man  you  ever  saw."  His  peculiarities  and  eccen- 
tricities were  numberless.  He  had  an  inexhaustible 
fund  of  wit  and  humor,  but  he  never  poured  it  out  in 
malice.  He  was  a  shrewd  reader  of  men's  hearts,  yet 
he  never  sported  with  their  foibles.  His  treasures  of 
thought  and  learning,  were  almost  unrivalled,  jet  they 
were  never  used  for  display;  and  no  one  could  have  a 
more  thorough  contempt  for  mere  verbiage.  He  often 
had  occasion  to  say  to  others, — especially  in  prayer, — 
^'  Be  short  j"  and  his  own  practice  conformed  to  his  pre- 
cept. His  power  of  silence  was  remarkable.  He  could 
bear  an  impertinence,  and  gaze  into  vacancj-  till  it  had 
evaporated  into  a  folly  that  needed  no  reply.  Few  men 
ever  manifested  greater  disinterestedness  or  devotion  to 
the  cause  of  Christ.  Each  of  the  benevolent  societies 
— tract,  Bible,  missions — found  in  him  an  early  and  a 
steadfast  friend.  His  sympathies  w^ere  as  broad  as  the 
gospel  he  preached.  When  he  retired  from  his  pastoral 
charge,  he  did  not  retire  from  active  service  in  his 
Master's  cause.  For  this  '^  to  beg"  he  w^as  not  ashamed, 
and  he  did  it  with  a  tact,  energy,  and  success  rarely 
surpassed. 

And  yet,  though  conscious  of  his  power,  lie  had  the 
simpltcity  and  giiilelessoess  of  a  child.  His  heart  was 
unusually  kind,  gentle,  and  affectionate.  His  eccen- 
tricities were  unstudied,  the  natural  expression  of  the 


NEW    YORK,    1S16-1S30.  275 

man.  Yet  he  was  cluiracterized  ever  by  a  deep  hu- 
mility. He  adored  with  his  whole  heart  the  gospel  of 
his  salvation.  No  one  that  ever  heard  him  exclaim, 
with  his  own  jjeculiar  intonation  and  emphasis,  "  I'm 
a  miracle  of  grace,  sir  :  I'm  a  miracle  of  grace,"  could 
doubt — whatever  might  be  thought  of  his  Ilopkinsian 
leanings — that  he  had  sat  with  Paul  at  the  Master's 
feet.  In  speaking  of  j^ersonal  piety,  he  dwelt,  to  the 
end  of  his  life,  on  his  great  sinfulness.  Of  the  divine 
grace  he  would  say,  ''It  is  an  ocean  without  a  shore." 
''  My  transgressions  are  like  mountains  piled  on  moun- 
tains." "I  hope  to  be  saved,  sir,"  he  once  said  to  Dr. 
Dickinson,  "  but  I'm  an  awful  sinner,  sir, — an  awful 
sinner.  If  I  am  seen  in  heaven,  sir,  it  will  astonish  the 
universe."  The  benedictions  of  hundreds  of  grateful 
and  loving  hearts  followed  him  to  the  grave. 

Quite  nnlike  him,  and  yet  with  the  same  downright 
sturdy  energy  of  purpose  and  consecration  to  his  work, 
Avas  that  veteran,  Seth  Williston,  of  Durham.  A  hardy 
pioneer  in  Central  and  Western  New  York  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  century,  a  large  though  scarcely 
voluminous  writer,  with  more  of  strength  than  grace 
in  his  utterance,  and  with  a  hand  and  heart  alike  ready 
for  every  good  word  and  work,  his  name  deserves  the 
honor  ever  due  to  those  who,  in  the  lack  of  brilliant 
gifts,  consecrate  their  lives  to  aims  of  highest  useful- 
ness. His  untiring  energy,  perseverance,  and  fidelity 
were  crowned  with  results  such  as  a  sanctified  ambition 
might  well  covet.  His  rigid  adherence  to  some  of  the 
Ilopkinsian  tenets  never  interfered  with  his  spirituality 
of  conversation,  or  the  benevolent  spirit  of  his  life. 
He  had  reached  his  eighty-first  3^ear  when  he  died  in 
1851. 

Gideon  N.  Judd  was  the  successor  of  Dr.  Porter  at 
Catskill,  although  some  of  his  earlier  years  were  devoted 
to  the  pastorate  of  the  Bloomfield  Church,  New  Jersey. 


276  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

He  was  not  specially  eminent  as  a  preacher,  nor  had  ho 
the  character  or  faculties  which  inspire  awe  or  impress 
the  hearer  with  a  sense  of  hidden  power.  Yet  he  was 
well  read,  a  good  scholar,  a  judicious  counsellor,  an 
affectionate  preacher,  and  a  lovely  man.  In  his  gen- 
tleness and  meekness  was  the  secret  of  his  success.  If 
he  did  not  command  the  homage  of  greatness,  he  won 
the  confidence  due  to  goodness.  His  spirit  was  emi- 
nently conciliatory.  He  could  not  quarrel.  In  him, 
nature  and  grace  alike  forbade  it.  In  a  clear,  chaste, 
and  graceful  style  he  presented  the  truths  which  to  his 
own  heart  had  evinced  their  cheering,  consoling,  and 
sustaining  power. 

John  Chester,  of  Albany,  had  been  settled  at  Hudson 
for  five  years  before  he  commenced  his  pastorate  of  the 
Second  Presbyterian  Church,  gathered  (1815)  in  the 
capital  of  the  State.  A  native  of  Wethersfield,  Conn., 
he  had  been  graduated  at  Yale  in  1804,  and  his  theo- 
logical studies  had  been  pursued  with  Dr.  Lyman,  of 
Massachusetts.  At  Hudson  he  was  eminently  success- 
ful in  regathering  the  scattered  congregation  and  stir- 
ring them  up  to  active  effort.  In  Albany  he  had  the 
satisfaction  of  seeing  the  new  enterprise  in  which  he 
had  engaged  a  complete  success;  and  before  his  decease, 
in  1829,  its  membership  had  risen  to  over  three  hun- 
dred. With  untiring  assiduity  he  devoted  himself  to 
the  best  interests  of  his  own  flock,  and,  indeed,  to  all 
the  temporal  and  spiritual  interests  of  humanity  within 
his  reach. 

In  all  his  deportment,  he  was  the  model  of  a  Christian 
gentleman.  Graceful  in  manner,  genial  in  spirit,  and 
with  a  ready  tact  to  adapt  himself  to  every  occasion, 
he  readily  secured  the  affection  and  strong  and  lasting 
attachment  of  his  people.  In  the  pulpit,  his  command- 
ing person  and  somewhat  florid  style  favorabl}^  im- 
pressed the  great  mass  of  those  that  heard  him ;  and. 


NEW    YORK,    1816-1830.  277 

though  he  could  scarcely  lay  claim  to  remarkable  elo- 
quence or  profound  learning,  he  exerted,  wherever  he 
went,  a  powerful  influence.  With  quick  and  kindly 
sympathies,  and  a  heart  alive  to  every  claim  of  a  true 
philanthropy,  it  was  not  strange  that  at  times  his  hearers 
should  have  been  melted  under  the  pathos  of  his  tender 
appeals.  Toward  the  close  of  his  ministry,  the  "  new 
measures"  dispensation  opened  upon  the  churches  of 
the  region;  but  from  him  it  received  no  countenance. 
He  regarded  it  with  disti'ust,  and  felt  assured  that  its 
results  could  not  fail  to  be  disastrous.  His  successor 
in  the  pastorate  of  the  church  was  (Dr.)  William  B. 
Sprague. 

At  Troy,  the  pastorate  of  Dr.  Coe  continued  until  his 
death  in  1822.  His  successor  was  (Dr.)  Nathan  S.  S.  Be- 
man,  who,  after  having  been  settled  at  Portland,  Me., 
and  after  laboring  for  some  ten  years  in  the  destitute 
regions  of  Georgia,  was  called  to  the  charge  of  w^hat 
had  now^  become  a  large  and  flourishing  church,  num- 
bering soon  after  his  accession  nearly  five  hundred 
members.  In  the  full  maturity  of  his  powers,  with  an 
energy  of  will  and  purpose  equal  to  his  abilities,  and  in 
charge  of  the  largest  and  almost  the  wealthiest  church 
in  the  northern  portion  of  the  State,  it  was  inevitable 
that  he  should  wield  a  powerful  and  commanding 
influence.  Zealous  in  the  cause  of  revivals,  with  a 
liberality  almost  fierce  in  the  construction  of  the  "new 
measures,"  and  with  a  chivalry  that  not  only  knew  no 
fear,  but  stood  ready  to  challenge  whatever  wore  the 
aspect  of  illiberality  or  bigotry,  he  was  a  man  whom  few 
could  safely  meet  in  controversy',  and  whom  none  could 
regard  with  indifference.  By  nature  fitted  to  lead  and 
unfitted  to  follow,  he  assumed  a  prominent  position  in 
the  controversies  with  which  the  Church  was  agitated. 
His  sobriquet  of  '•  The  War-Horse,"  while  it  did  injustice 
perhaps  to  his  kindlier  sensibilities,  paid  only  a  just 

Vol.  II.— 24 


278  HISTORY    OF    PRKSBYTLKiAMSM. 

tribute  to  the  adventurous  daring  with  whicl!  he  rushed 
forward,  against  all  odds,  to  encounter  what  he  regarded 
as  the  hostility  of  error.  For  such  a  service  nature  had 
richly  endowed  him.  With  a  clear  purpose,  a  resolute 
energy,  a  seeming  unconsciousness  of  fear,  a  ready  utter- 
ance, and  a  perfect  command  of  appropriate  and  forcible 
language,  he  was  an  antagonist  whom  no  man  could 
afford  to  despise. 

In  President  ISTott  of  Union  College  Avere  united 
some  of  the  rarest  qualities  that  are  to  be  found  com- 
hined  in  a  single  individual.  A  clear  and  sagacious 
thinker,  yet  an  eloquent  declaimer,  wise  in  general 
administration,  and  yet  capable  of  noting  in  detail 
every  practical  subject,  commanding  respect,  jot  con- 
ciliating affection,  of  unwavering  firmness,  yet  judi- 
cious in  resorting  to  expedients  when  the  emergency 
demanded,  his  name  is  associated  not  only  with  the  in- 
terests of  the  institution  over  which  he  presided,  but 
with  the  interests  and  welfare  of  the  Church  through- 
ovit  the  region,  for  more  than  half  a  centur3^  Sent  out 
by  the  Connecticut  Society  in  179(3  as  a  missionary, 
and  with  decided  preferences  for  the  Congregational 
system,  under  which  he  had  been  educated,  his  inter- 
course w^ith  John  Blair  Smith,  of  Union  College,  early 
led  to  a  change  in  his  views,  and  of  the  Plan  of  Union 
he  became  a  warm  and  steadfast  champion.  Hence- 
forth his  name  was  identified  with  the  interests  and 
growth  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  He  labored  as  a 
pastor  successively  at  Cherry  Valley  and  at  Albany, 
and  with  such  reputation  that  on  the  death  of  the  Pre- 
sident of  Union  College  he  was  elected  in  1804  to  the 
vacant  office. 

His  early  experience  had  led  him  to  philosophical 
reflection  on  the  methods  of  training  youth,  and  dis- 
pensing largely  with  the  harsh  measures  of  a  stern 
authority.     The   conclusions  which    he    reached   were 


NEW    YORK,    1816-1830.  279 

practically  embodied  in  his  successful  administration 
of  one  of  the  most  important  collegiate  institutions 
in  the  land.  Calm,  sagacious,  judicious,  but  decided, 
governed  by  cool  reason  rather  than  passion  or  enthu- 
siasm, he  was  fitted  by  natui"e  to  hold  an  even  balance 
between  opposing  parties,  and  to  set  forth  his  own 
views  in  a  clear  and  convincing  light.  While  tenacious 
of  his  own  convictions,  he  was  capable  of  making  ?. 
just  allowance  for  those  of  persons  who  differed  with 
him;  and  if  he  failed  to  convince,  he  never  allowed 
himself  to  exasperate.  In  the  councils  of  the  Church 
his  suggestions  always  commanded  respect,  and,  while 
eschewing  the  asceticism  of  religious  duty,  his  aims 
were  governed  by  a  liberal  and  enlightened  piety. 

Samuel  Blatchford,  of  Lansingburg,  was  a  native  of 
England,  and  was  educated  at  the  Dissenting  College 
of  Homerton.  After  laboring  successively  at  Kings- 
bridge  and  Topsham,  near  Exeter,  he  emigrated  to  this 
country  in  1795,  and  preached  successively  at  Bedford. 
Greenfield,  and  Bridgeport,  until,  in  1804,  he  was  called 
to  the  charge  of  the  churches  of  Lansingburg  and 
Waterford.     Here  he  remained  until  his  death  in  1828. 

Of  dignified  manner,  well-balanced  mind,  no  slight 
dexterity  in  argument,  and  a  thorough  devotion  to  the 
work  of  the  ministry,  Dr.  Blatchford  was  a  sober  and 
well-read  theologian,  and  an  "able  minister  of  the  New 
Testament."  With  an  enlarged  Christian  philanthropy 
he  hailed  with  gratulation  the  foi*mation  of  the  variouKS 
benevolent  societies  designed  to  evangelize  the  country 
and  the  world.  Generous  and  hospitable,  his  heart 
overflowed  with  kindness  and  charity.  In  the  social 
circle  he  gave  full  evidence  of  his  vigorous  powers  and 
his  treasures  of  thought.  In  the  pulpit,  where  his  man- 
ner was  easy  and  natural,  he  was  always  instructive, 
never  tame  or  commonplace,  and  occasionally  rising  to 
a  manly  eloquence. 


280  HISTORY   OF   PRESBYTERIANISM. 

Dr.  Elisha  Yale,  of  Kingsborough,  was  a  native  of 
Lee,  Mass.  He  never  enjoj'ed  the  advantages  of  a  col- 
legiate education;  but  his  studies — academic  and  theo- 
logical— were  pursued  at  first  under  his  own  pastor,  Dr. 
Shepard,  and  subsequently  under  Dr.  Perkins,  of  West 
Hartford,  Conn.  In  1803  he  was  licensed  by  the  North 
Association  of  Hartford  county,  and  in  1804  took  charge 
of  the  church  of  Kingsborough,  continuing  in  the  pas- 
torate for  a  period  of  nearly  fii'ty  years,  and  nearly  to 
the  time  of  his  death  in  1853.  Although  till  a  recent 
period  his  church  continued  Congregational,  he  was  a 
Presbyterian  from  choice  and  conviction.  With  little 
that  was  prepossessing  in  his  appearance  and  manner, 
none  that  knew  him  could  doubt  his  sterling  integrity 
or  firmness  of  purpose.  Never  remarkably  popular  as 
a  preacher,  neither  ornate  in  stj'le  nor  elegant  and  grace- 
ful in  delivery,  his  sermons  were  rich  in  sound  thought, 
combining  in  judicious  proportion  the  doctrinal,  prac- 
tical, and  experimental,  and  characterized  by  a  lucid 
arrangement.  His  devotion  to  his  pastoral  charge  was 
exemplary,  and  his  zeal  for  missions  untiring.  He 
trained  his  church  to  share  his  own  sympathies  and 
respond  to  the  claims  of  Christian  evangelization 
throughout  the  world. 

The  church  of  Johnstown,  under  the  pastorate  of  Dr. 
Hosack,  which,  commencing  in  1790,  extended  through 
a  period  of  more  than  forty  years,  was  one  of  the 
largest  and  most  prosperous  in  the  northern  part  of 
the  State.  By  him  the  church  of  Carlisle  was  or- 
ganized in  1803,  and  for  a  long  period  he  was  the  patri- 
arch of  the  Presbyter}',  by  his  long  and  tried  service 
commanding  universal  respect  and  confidence. 

Passing  westward,  we  meet  at  Auburn  Dirck  C.  Lan- 
sing, a  graduate  of  Yale  College  in  1804,  a  theological 
pupil  of  Dr.  Blatchford,  the  founder  in  1806  of  the 
Onondaga  Church,  and  from  1816  to  1829  the  pastor  of 


NEW    YORK.    1816-18:^0.  281 

the  First  Presbyterian  Clmrcli  at  Auburn,  where  more 
than  one  thousand  persons  were  gathered  into  the 
Church  under  liis  ministry  of  twelve  years.  An  earnest 
friend  of  ''  protracted  meetings"  and  revival  measures, 
he  labored  here,  and  subsequently,  though  in  enfeebled 
health,  with  great  zeal  at  Utica,  in  Central  and  Western 
New  York,  and  at  length  as  a  Congregational  pastor 
in  New  York  and  Brooklyn.  His  life,  eminently  labo- 
rious, useful,  and  successful,  closed  in  1857,  at  the  age 
of  seventj'-two. 

In  connection  with  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Au- 
burn were  several  whose  names  should  not  be  jDassed 
unnoticed.  This  institution,  projected  by  the  Synod 
of  Geneva  in  1818,  was  incorporated  in  1820,  and  went 
into  operation  in  October  of  the  following  year.  Dr. 
James  Eichards,  of  Newark,  N.J.,  was  elected  Professor 
of  Theology;  Dr.  M.  L.  R.  Perrine,  of  New-  York  City, 
Professor  of  Ecclesiastical  History  and  Church  Polit}'- ; 
and  Henry  Mills,  of  Woodbridge,  N.J.,  Professor  of 
Biblical  Criticism  and  Oriental  Languages.  Dr.  Rich- 
ards declined  his  appointment,  and  the  duties  of  his 
professorship  were  discharged  by  Dr.  Perrine  until  the 
founding  of  the  Richards  Professorship  in  1823.^ 

Dr.  Perrine  was  "  an  Israelite  indeed,"  a  man  of 
lovely  spirit,  and,  though  lacking  perhaps  in  executive 
talents,  of  fair  ability,  clear  perceptions,  and  devoted 
piety.  His  sincerity  was  transparent,  and  his  Chris- 
tian character  inspired  confidence  and  respect.  In  1836 
he  fell  at  his  post,  honored  and  lamented.  Of  Dr.  Rich- 
ards mention  has  already  been  made.     Dr.  Mills  has 

1  The  professors  of  the  seminary  have  been  Dr.  Richards  (1823- 

43),   Henry    Mills,   Dii'ck   C.    Lansing    (temporarily),    Dr.  Perrine 

(1821-36),  Dr.  S.  H.  Cox  (1834-38),  Dr.  Luther  Halsey  (183G-44), 

Dr.  Baxter  Dickinson  (1839-47),  Dr.  Laurens  P.  Hickok  (1845-     ), 

Samuel  M.  Hopkins,  John  Few  Smith,  Ezra  Huntington,  and  Edwin 

Hall. 

24* 


282  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

been  spared  to  perform  the  duties  of  a  protracted  period 
of  useful  service  in  the  cause  of  Christian  learning. 

From  1812  to  1849,  Henry  Axtell  was  the  pastor  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Geneva.  The  revivals  of 
1819  and  1825  resulted  each  in  adding  to  it  nearly  one 
hundred  communicants;  and  in  successive  years  his 
labors  were  crowned  with  the  Divine  blessing.  With 
nothing  of  polish  in  speech  or  mariner,  he  thoroughly 
understood  his  work,  and  was  master  of  the  method  of 
accomplishing  it.^ 

The  name  of  Caleb  Alexander,  of  Onondaga,  is  more 
intimately  associated  with  the  general  interests  of  the 
Church  than  with  any  local  sphere  of  labor.  For 
twenty  years  he  had  been  settled  as  a  pastor  in  New 
England  before  his  removal  as  missionary  of  the  Mas- 
sachusetts Society,  in  1801,  to  Central  New  York.  The 
founding  of  Fairfield  Academy  was  due  to  his  efforts; 
and  Hamilton  College  and  Auburn  Seminary — the  Pre- 
sidency of  the  former  of  which  he  saw  fit  to  decline — 
were  largely  indebted  to  his  sagacity  and  his  exertions 
in  their  behalf 

Azel  Backus,  the  first  President  of  Hamilton  College, 
was  born  at  Norwich,  Conn.,  Oct.  13,  1765.  In  1787 
he  was  graduated  at  Yale  College,  and  in  1791  was 
settled  at  Bethlem,  Conn.,  as  the  successor  of  Dr. 
Bellamy.     Here  he  remained  till  his  acceptance  of  the 

1  B.  B.  Stockton  was  a  native  of  Hackettstown,  N.J.,  where  he 
was  born  in  1790.  A  graduate  of  Middlebury  College  and  Andover 
Seminary,  he  was  ordained  by  Utica  Presbytery  in  1812,  and 
travelled  subsequently  extensively  in  the  United  States,  everywhere 
finding  acceptance  as  an  earnest  and  popular  preacher.  His  life- 
work  was  mostly  performed  in  Western  New  York.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  Rochester  Presbytery  from  its  organization  till  1858.  He 
labored  at  different  periods  in  connection  with  the  churches  of 
Skaneateles,  Palmyra,  Pompey,  Camillas,  Le  Roy,  Brockport,  Mont- 
gomery, Geneseo,  and  Phelps.  His  death  occurred  at  Brooklyn, 
Jan.  10,  1861. 


OHIO,    1816-1830.  283? 

Presidency,  the  duties  of  which  he  Avas  spared  to  dis- 
charge for  only  about  five  years.  With  keen  discern- 
ment of  character,  schohirly  attainments,  ready  tact, 
and  warm  sympathies,  he  excelled  as  a  teacher,  while 
in  the  pulpit  his  peculiar,  though  natural,  eloquence 
was  often  deeply  impressive.  He  was  master  of  a  style 
which — in  spite  of  an  imagination  vivid  and  powerful, 
but  too  unchastened — was  simple,  clear,  concise,  and 
remarkably  energetic.  His  illustrations  wei'e  admi- 
rable, his  thoughts  striking,  and  his  wit  not  only  keen 
but  exuberant.  As  a  pastor  he  was  beloved,  and  as  a 
teacher  respected. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

OHIO,    1816-1830. 


In  1818,  the  region  of  the  Western  Reserve  in  Ohio 
was  occupied  by  the  three  Presbyteries  of  Hartford, 
formed  from  Erie  in  1808,  Grand  Eiver,  formed  from 
Hartford  in  1814,  and  Portage,  formed  from  Grand 
River  in  1818.  Huron  was  erected  from  Portage  in 
1823;  and  in  1825,  Grand  River,  Portage,  and  Huron 
were  constituted  the  Synod  of  the  Western  Reserve. 
In  1826,  the  Presbytery  of  Detroit,  with  five  ministers, 
Avas  erected.  In  1827,  Trumbull,  formed  from  Grand 
River,  with  eleven  members,  was  likewise  connected 
with  the  Synod.  To  these  was  added,  in  1830,  the  Pres- 
bj'tery  of  Cleveland,  formed  from  that  of  Huron,  and 
consisting  of  foui'teen  members. 

The  Presbj'-tery  of  Hartford,  remaining  in  connection 
with  the  Synod  of  Pittsburg,  consisted  in  1814  of  fifteen 
ministers,  and  had  under  its  care  thirty-four  congrega- 
tions on  the  eastern  border  and  in  the  northeastern  part 
of  the  State.     In  1830,  it  had  but  thirteen  ministers  and 


284  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

thirty-one  congregations.  During  nearl}^  the  '  entire 
period,  Thomas  E.  Hughes  continued  at  Mt.  Pleasant. 
The  pastorates  of  James  Satterfield  at  Moorfield  and 
Hubbard,  Clement  Yalandingham  at  New  Lisbon,  and 
Eobert  Semple  at  New  Castle  and  Slippery  Rock, 
remained  unchanged.  William  Woods  had  succeeded 
William  Matthews  at  Neshanock,  Ward  Stafford  had 
succeeded  William  Wick  at  Youngstown,  Joshua  Beer 
had  removed  from  Spi'ingfield  and  Canton  to  Middle 
Sandy  and  Bcthesda,  James  Wright  had  become  pastor 
of  Poland  and  Westtield,  William  Reed  had  succeeded 
Ezekiel  Glasgow  at  New  Salem  in  conjunction  with 
Long's  Run,  while  William  McLean  had  succeeded  him 
at  Beavertown,  Robert  Dil worth  was  settled  at  Plea- 
sant Valley,  and  was  stated  supply  of  Middle  Beaver, 
William  O.  Stratton  had  succeeded  John  Bruce  at  Ells- 
worth, and  had  charge  also  of  Canfield,  and  William 
Nesbit  was  pastor  of  Hopewell.  The  other  churches 
of  the  Presbytery,  eleven  in  number,  were  vacant. 

In  1814,  Avhen  the  Synod  of  Ohio  was  erected,  it  con- 
sisted of  the  three  Presbyteries  of  Lancaster,  Washing- 
ton, and  Miami.  In  1817,  Richland  was  formed  from 
Lancaster,  and  consisted  of  six  ministers  and  about 
twenty  congregations.  In  1821,  Columbus  and  Cincin- 
nati were  erected,  the  latter  from  Miami.  Athens  was 
formed  from  Lancaster  in  1822,  and  Oxford  from  Cin- 
cinnati in  1829. 

In  1829,  the  Synod  of  Cincinnati  was  erected.  It 
consisted  of  the  Presbyteries  of  Chillicothe,  Miami, 
Cincinnati,  and  Oxford;  Avhile  the  Synod  of  Ohio  was 
composed  of  the  central  Presbyteries  of  Columbus, 
Richland,  Lancaster,  Athens,  and  Cleveland  The  Pres- 
byteries of  Hartford  and  Steubenville  (1818),  both  for 
the  most  part  within  the  bounds  of  the  State  of  Ohio, 
were  connected  with  the  Synod  of  Pittsburg. 

Thus,  in  little  more  than  fifteen  years,  the  Presby- 


OHIO,   1S16-1830.  285 

teries  had  increased  from  four  to  fifteen,  the  ministers 
from  about  forty-four  to  two  hundred  and  sixteen,  and 
the  congregations  from  less  than  one  hundred  and 
fifteen  to  more  than  three  hundred  and  sixty.  The 
increase  had  been  at  the  rate  of  more  than  three  hun- 
dred per  cent,  during  the  period. 

On  the  Western  Reserve  the  number  of  churches 
under  the  care  of  the  Presbyteries  rapidly  increased 
from  1816  to  1830.  Those  of  Bricksville,  Harrisville, 
Bristol,  Brookfield,  Ellsworth,  and  Farmington  were 
organized  in  1816;  Strongsville.  Lyme,  and  Fowler  in 
1817;  Vermillion,  Sheffield,  AtAvater,  Shalersville.  An- 
dover  First,  Huntsburg,  Milan,  and  Peru  in  1818;  Fitch- 
ville,  Brunswick,  Granger,  Greene,  Richfield,  Wads- 
worth,  Conneaut,  Morgan,  Eome,  Brooklyn,  Bainbritlge, 
Kirtland,  Sandusky,  Brownhelm,  and  Medina  in  1819; 
Cleveland  Village  Church,  Chester,  Thompson,  and  Bo- 
zetta  in  1820;  Ashtabula  and  Bloomfield  in  1821 ;  Clarks- 
field,  Greenfield,  Wakeman,  Carlisle,  Eidgeville,  Ra- 
venna, Turinsburg,  and  Hartford  in  1822;  Pierpont, 
Berlin,  New  Haven,  Columbia,  Bath,  Edenburg,  and 
Franklin  in  1823  ;  Windsor,  Parkman,  and  Elyria  in 
1824;  Gustavus,  Hubbard,  and  Southington  in  1825; 
Claridon,  Euggles,  Austintown,  and  Weathersfield  in 
1827;  Hinckley  and  Freedom  in  1828;  Monroe  and 
Batavia  in  1829;  Madison  Second,  Montville,  Norwalk, 
Penfield,  and  Westfield  in  1830.i 

In  the  five  years  that  followed,  the  inci'casc  of  the 
churches  was  yet  more  rapid.  Colebrook  and  Orwell, 
Eussell,  Eidgefield  and  Monroe,  Jefferson,  Newbury, 
Guilford,  Western  Eeservc  College  Church,  Middlebury, 
and  Kinsman  were  organized  in  1831 ;  Lenox,  Florence, 
Sharon,  Brimfield,  Millsford,  Liberty,  Mecca,  Mesopo- 
tamia, Milton,  and  Newton  in  1832;  AVilloughby,  Troy, 

'  American  Quarterly  Register,  vol.  viii 


286  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

York,  Akron,  Nortlifield,  Sheffield,  Williamsfield  and 
Wayne,  Newburg,  Litchfield,  and  Streetsborough  in 
1833;  Solon,  Chardon,  Concord,  Unionville,  Munson, 
Eichmond,  Kipley,  Grafton,  Legrange,  Oberlin,  Cheat- 
bam,  La  Fayette,  Cuyahoga  Falls,  Deerfield,  Garretts- 
ville,  and  West  Farniington  in  183-1  j  and  New  L^-me, 
Eockport,  Lc  Roy,  Bronson,  Huron,  Amherst,  Avon, 
Olmstead,  Wellington,  Brighton,  Weymouth,  and  Can- 
field  First  in  1835. 

Thus  on  this  field  alone,  from  1816  to  1830,  nearly 
sevent3'-five  new  churches  were  organized,  and  from 
1830  to  1835,  sixty  more,  or  something  over  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty  in  all.  Many  of  these  were  Congrega- 
tional in  their  form  of  government,  but  were,  for  the 
most  part,  under  the  care  of  Presbyteries.  By  far  the 
larger  portion  of  them  were  quite  feeble,  and  unable, 
unless  by  missionary  aid  or  in  conjunction  with  others, 
to  sustain  a  pastor.  Several  were  destitute,  for  long 
periods,  not  only  of  pastoral  aid,  but  of  stated  supply. 

In  1825,  quite  a  large  number  of  the  early  ministers 
of  the  region  were  still  laboring  within  its  bounds, 
although  only  a  few  remained  in  their  first  places  of 
settlement  Joseph  Badger  was  at  Gustavus,  Dr.  Cowles 
at  Austinburg,  E  J.  Woodruff  at  Wayne,  N.  B.  Derrow 
at  Vienna,  Jonathan  Leslie  without  charge  at  Harpers- 
field,  Harve}^  Coe  at  Vernon,  Luther  Humphrey  at  Bur- 
ton, J  W.  Curtis  at  Warren,  Caleb  Pitkin  ^  at  Charles- 
town,  John  Field  at  Atwater,  John  Seward  at  Aurora, 
William  Hanford  at  Hudson,  Joseph  Treat  at  Windham, 
and  Simeon  Woodruff  at  Richfield.  Five  years  later, 
Cowles,  Woodruff.  Leslie,  Pitkin,  Seward,  Hanford, 
Treat,  Badger,  and  Coe  were  nearly  all  that  remained 
of  the  pioneer  ministers  of  the  region.     At  this  time, 

1  Born  at  New  Hartford,  Conn  ,  1781,  settled  at  Milford  (1807-16) 
and  Charlestown  (1817-28),  resided  subsequently  at  Hudson  till  his 
death.  Feb.  5,  1804. 


OHIO,  1810-18:^0.  287 

only  nine  churches  on  the  entire  field  numbered  a  mem- 
bership of  over  one  hundred.  Tliese  were  Wayne,  Ilar- 
persfield  and  Geneva,  Kingsville,Austinburg,Tallmadge> 
Hudson,  Warren,  Kinsman  and  Vernon,  and  Euclid. 

The  results  secured  during  the  period  from  1815  to 
1830  had  not  been  achieved  without  earnest  and  per- 
severine:  effort.  The  rush  of  immigration  threatened 
to  defeat  the  efforts  to  estabhsh  religious  institutions 
adequate  to  the  wants  of  the  region.  The  constant 
demand,  especially  from  the  region  of  the  Hcserve, 
where  religious  privileges  were  best  appreciated,  was 
for  a  supply  of  ministers  for  the  gathering  congrega- 
tions or  newly-organized  churches. 

In  1815,  when  Luther  Humphrey  w^as  settled  at  Bur- 
ton, he  was  the  only  minister  in  a  county  adjoining 
"which  were  a  number  of  destitute  settlements.  There 
Avas  a  greater  demand  for  preaching  than  the  ministers 
could  supply.  Many  places  seemed  desirous  of  settling 
pastors  if  they  could  be  obtained.  Numerous  settle- 
ments could  scarcely  obtain  -'a  Sabbath's  preaching  in 
the  year."  ''More  missionaries,"  writes  Mr.  Cowles, 
"  are  greatly  needed  here."  "  The  state  of  the  Church 
appears  in  this  countr}',"  says  Mr.  Leslie,  "  to  be  pro- 
gressive. In  every  part  of  the  Reserve,  an  increasing 
attention  to  worship  on  the  Sabbath  appeai:s  observable. 
We  need  more  ministers.  Throughout  the  extensive 
bounds  of  this  Synod  there  is  a  general  cry, —  Give  us 
ministers:  but  we  have  them  not."^ 


*  The  report  of  (he  Synod  of  Ohio  for  1819  showed  that  it  con- 
sisted of  the  four  Presbyteries  of  Washington,  Lancaster,  Miami, 
and  Richland.  In  connection  witli  these  were  forty-eight  ordained 
ministers,  of  wliom  forty-one  were  settled,  three  candidates,  and 
two  licentiates.  The  congregations  numbered  one  hundred  and 
twenty-six,  of  which  sixty-one  were  statedly  supplied,  while  sixty- 
five  were  vacant.  Of  the  latter,  sixteen  were  able  and  forty-nine 
unable  to  support  a  minister.     The  reports  of  fifty-nine  congrega- 


288  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

The  Connecticut  Societ}^  had  in  its  employ  at  this 
time,  in  the  region  of  the  Reserve,  twelve  missionaries, 
most  of  them  settled  pastors  who  devoted  a  portion  of 
their  time  to  itinei-ant  labor  in  the  region  around  them. 
Of  these,  Rev.  John  Seward  was  settled  at  Aurora,  Rev. 
Abraham  Scott  at  Steubenville,  Simeon  Woodruff  at 
Tallmadge,  William  Hanford  at  Hudson,  and  Luther 
Humphi-ey  at  Burton  and  Canton.  The  Synod  of  Pitts- 
burg heartily  welcomed  the  laborers  sent  out  and  sus- 
tained by  the  Connecticut  Society.  "  The  harmony 
which  prevailed,"  says  Rev.  William  Hanford,  "  and  the 
conciliatory  spirit  which  was  manifested  towards  the 
New^  England  divines,  was  not  only  pleasant,  but  really 
delightful."  The  missionaries  of  the  society  and  the 
members  of  the  Synod  realized  that  they  were  brethren 
eno-aofcd  in  a  common  cause.  All  felt  alike  the  great- 
ness  of  this  work.  "Churches"  were  "forming  in  dif- . 
ferent  places,  and  the  cry"  was  "everywhere.  Come  over 
and  help  us.''  The  ministers  often  felt  themselves  over- 
tasked. Rev-  Luther  Humphrey,  by  no  means  pre- 
eminent above  his  brethren,  says,  "During  twenty-fivo 
■weeks  of  missionary  labor,  I  preached  one  hundred 
and  seventy-six  times."  "  Multitudes,"  writes  Mr.  Scott, 
"  are  perishing  for  lack  of  knowledge." 

Li  the  neighborhood  of  Granville,  the  state  of  things 
was  much  the  same  as  in  the  bounds  of  the  Reserve. 
Rev.  Timothy  ILirris  performed  efficient  service  in  this 
region.  "  Many,"  he  writes,  "are  the  calls  around  me 
for  preaching;  and  it  is  truly  affecting  to  know  the 
wants  of  many  and  hear  their  calls,  and  not  be  able  to 
go  to  them  with  the  bread  of  life.     I  hope  the  God  of 

tions  showed  the  number  of  communicants  to  be  five  tliousand  one 
hundred  and  sixty-seven.  Reports  from  others  would  probably 
have  swelled  the  number  to  near  seven  thousand.  — Christian  Herald, 
vi.  fiOO. 


OHIO,  1S16-1S30.  289 

mercy  will  soon  multiply  faithful  ministers  in  this 
widely-extended  field  of  usefulness." 

In  1815,  Rev.  William  R.  Gould  commenced  his  labors 
at  Gallipolis,  already-  "a  county-seat  and  a  flourishing 
town,"  but  without  a  minister.^  Here  he  gathered  a 
congregation,  formed  a  church,  and  was  invited  to  the 
pastorate.  His  tours  through  the  surrounding  region 
were  extensive.  "  There  are  now,"  he  writes,  "  some 
truly  religious  people  scattered  through  every  part  of 
the  State.  Missionaries  have,  therefore,  a  home  in 
almost  every  place,  and  appointments  are  expeditiously 
circulated." 

Cleveland  was  settled  by  a  single  family  in  1799,  and 
for  many  years  gave  but  feeble  promise  of  the  rank 
which  it  was  destined  to  assume  among  the  cities  of  the 
West.'*  In  1825,  when  the  Erie  Canal,  wiiich  gave  the 
first  impulse  to  its  prosperity,  was  opened,  it  did  not 
number  a  population  of  over  seven  hundred.  In  1820, 
the  First  Presbyterian  Church  was  organized,  and,  until 
the  settlement  of  Dr.  S.  C.  Aiken  as  pastor  in  1835,  was 
successively  supplied  by  Messrs.  Stone,  McLean,  Brad- 
street,  Hutchings,  and  Keep.*  In  1830  there  were  but 
three  or  four  male  members  of  the  church  in  the  town, 
while  the  whole  number  of  communicants  was  less  than 
forty.  In  1836  the  membership  had  increased  to  nearly 
two  hundred;  and  in  1834  the  "  Village  Church,"  on  the 
west  side  of  the  river,  was  gathered,  under  the  labors 
of  John  Keep. 

'  This  town  was  originally  settled  by  French  infidels,  and  neither 
the  place  nor  cliurch  enjoyed  much  prosperity. — F. 

'■^  In  June,  1801,  when  Mr.  Badger  visited  Cleveland,  he  found 
there  but  two  families.  In  1803  he  writes  of  it,  "Infidelity  and 
profaning  the  Sabbath  are  general  in  this  place.  They  bid  fair  to 
grow  into  a  hardened,  corrupt  society." — Memoir,  p.  46.  See  also 
"Eighty  Years'  Progress." 

3  Report  of  U.  D.  M.  S.  for  1825,  p.  G2. 

Vol.  11.-25 


290  HISTORY  or  presbvterianism. 

In  the  Presbyter}-  of  Cleveland  (in  1830),  Stephen 
Peet  had  succeeded  Thomas  Barr  (1820)  at  Euclid,  Ste- 
phen V.  Barnes  was  at  Medina  and  Brunswick,  the  former 
numbering  but  fourteen  and  the  latter  sixteen  members, 
John  Jay  Shipherd  was  at  Elyria,  Alfred  H.  Betts  at 
Brownhelm,  Simeon  Woodruff  at  Strongsville,  Joel  Tal- 
cott  at  Wellington,  while  nine  churches  were  vacant, 
and  the  others  had  stated  supjjlies. 

In  the  Pi-esbytery  of  Columbus,  Dr.  Iloge  was  settled 
at  Columbus,  William  Burton  at  Circleville,  Henry  Van 
Deman  at  Delaware,  Eadnor,  and  Liberty,  Abner  Leon- 
ard at  Truro,  while  he  was  also  stated  supply  of  Middle- 
town.  Fourteen  of  the  churches  had  stated  supplies, 
and  eight  were  vacant.  Columbus  had  a  membership 
of  two  hundred  and  twenty-two,  Circleville  of  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty,  Mt.  Pleasant  of  seventy-five,  and  Wel- 
lington of  seventy. 

In  Eichland  Presbytery,  James  Snodgrass  w^as  settled 
at  Sugar  Creek  and  Pigeon  Eun,  James  Scott  at  Mt. 
Yernon,  William  Matthews  at  Hopewell,  Archibald 
Hanna  at  Paintville  and  Unity,  James  Eowland  at 
Mansfield,  Eichard  Brown  at  Jeromeville,  Jacob  Wolfe 
at  Blooming  Grove  and  Bethel,  Samuel  Cleland  at  New- 
man's Creek,  John  McKinney  at  Frederick,  and  Henrj^ 
Harvey  at  Martijisburg.  Fifteen  churches  had  stated 
supplies,  and  nine  were  vacant.  Of  the  latter  were 
Apple  Creek,  with  a  membership  of  one  hundred  and 
thirty-seven,  Wooster,  with  a  membership  of  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty-eight,  Springfield,  with  twenty-nine,  Ply- 
mouth, with  twenty-eight,  and  Sandusky,  which  made 
no  report.  Mt.  Vernon  Church  had  a  membership  of 
one  hundred  and  sixteen,  aud  Mansfield  of  one  hundred 
and  eighty-six. 

In  liancaster  Presbytery,  Jacob  Little  ^vas  at  Gran- 
ville, William  Wallace  at  Cambridge  and  Buffalo,  John 
Wright  at  Lancaster  and  Eush  Creek,  Thomas  B.  Clark 


OUIO,    1816-1830.  291 

at  Washington  and  Seneca,  James  Culbertson  at  Zanes- 
ville  and  Putnam,  Solomon  S.  Miles  at  Newark,  John 
Hunt  at  McCounellsville,  Deerfield,  and  Windsor,  and 
Samuel  W.  Rose  at  Burlington  and  Hartford.  Unity 
was  supplied  by  the  veteran  from  "Western  Pennsyl- 
vania, Thomas  Moore;  while  sixteen  of  the  thirty-three 
churches  of  the  Presbytery  were  vacant. 

In  the  Presbytery  of  Athens,  Eobert  G.  Wilson  was 
President  of  the  University,  Ebenezer  Hebard  was  set- 
tled at  Alexander,  Luther  Gf.  Bingham  at  Marietta,^ 
John  Spaulding  at  Athens,  Addison  Kingsbury  at  Belpre 
and  Warren;  while  five  of  the  ministers  of  the  Presby- 
tery- labored  as  missionaries,  and  eleven  of  the  churches 
were  without  pastors. 

In  the  Presbytery  of  Chillicothe,  James  Gilliland, 
after  his  j^astorate  in  Soiith  Carolina,  had  been  settled 
at  Red  Oak  for  a  quarter  of  a  century;  William  Dickey 
was  settled  at  Bloomingburg,  Samuel  Crothers  at 
Greenfield,  James  II.  Dickey  at  Salem,  John  Rankin  at 
Ripley,  William  Graham  at  Chillicothe,  Samuel  D. 
Blythe  at  Hillsborough,  John  P.  Yan  Dj-ke  at  West 
Union,  while  Nicholas  Pittenger  was  stated  8Ui:)ply  at 
Pisgah.  Thirteen  of  the  churches  Avere  without  pas- 
toi's;  although  three  of  these  had  stated  supplies. 

In  the  Presbj'tery  of  Miami,  Joseph  Stephenson  was 
pastor  of  the  churches  of  Bellfontaine,  Cherokee  Run, 
and  Stony  Creek;  Andrew  W.  Poage,  of  Yellow  Spring 
and  Muddy  Run;   John  N.  Belville,  of  Y^ashington;* 

'  Congregational  Church.     S.  P.  Robbins  died  in  1823. 

*  Mr.  Belville,  commissioned  in  1827  to  labor  in  connection  -with 
Dayton  and  Union  congregations  in  Montgomery  county,  organized 
two  congregations, — one  in  Montgomery,  and  the  otber  in  the 
southern  part  of  Miami,  within  three-fourths  of  a  mile  from  Mont- 
gomery,— and  succeeded  in  procuring  for  them  a  minister.  He  ac- 
cepted, himself,  a  call  from  Miamisburg  and  Washington,  and  during 
the  year  Franklin  Putnam  commenced  his  labors  as  stated  supply 
at  Dayton. 


292  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

while  ten  churches  had  stated  supplies,  and  eight  were 
vacant. 

Id  the  Presbytery  of  Cincinnati,  Joshua  L.  Wilson 
was  pastor  of  the  First  Church  in  the  city,^  David  Koot 
of  the  Second,  James  Gallaher  of  the  Third,  while  the 
Fourth  had  a  stated  supply,  and  the  Fifth  and  Sixth 
Avere  vacant,  the  former  with  a  membership  of  only 
ten.  The  other  pastors  of  the  Presbytery  were  James 
Kemper  at  Walnut  Hills,  John  Thompson  at  Springfield, 
Daniel  Hayden  at  Pleasant  Eidge,  Francis  Montfort  at 
Hamilton  and  Seven-Mile,  Ludwell  G.  Gaines  at  Hope- 
well and  Somerset,  and  Benjamin  Gi'aves  at  Eeading. 
Eight  of  the  churches  of  the  Presbytery  were  vacant, 
and  five  or  six  had  stated  supplies. 

In  the  Presbytery  of  Oxford,  Eobert  H.  Bishop  was 
President  of  the  University,  Adam  B.  Gilliland  was 
settled  at  Bethel,  Adrian  Aton  at  New  Jei-sey,  Archi- 
bald Craig  at  Mount  Carmel,  Samuel  Miller  at  New 
Lexington  and  New  Providence,  Sylvester  Scovill  at 
Lawrenceburg,  Elizabeth,  Berea,  and  Harrison,  and 
Thomas  E.  Hughes,  the  veteran  pioneer  across  the 
Ohio,  at  Dunlapsville.  Seven  churches  were  vacant, 
and  three  had  stated  supplies. 

Passing  now  to  the  southeastern  portion  of  the  State, 
in  the  Presbyteiy  of  Steubenville  we  find  John  Ehea 
•  settled  over  Beech  Spring  Church  (Cadiz),  James  Eo- 
bertson  at  Eichmond  and  Annapolis,  Thomas  Hunt  at 
Two  Eidges,  Charles  C.  Beatty  at  Steubenville,  William 
Wallace  at  Nottingham,  John  C.  Tidball  at  Island  Creek, 
John  McArthur  at  Eidge  and  Cadiz,  Benjamin  Mitchell 

^  Five  years  before  the  death  of  J.  L.  Wilson  (which  occurred 
August,  1846),  his  son,  Samuel  R.  Wilson,  was  called  as  his  col- 
league. 

The  Second  Presbyterian  Church  was  organized  1817,  David  Root 
pastor.  The  other  churches  had  been  gathered  from  1828  to  1830, 
during  the  period  of  revival,  and  were  the  fruits  of  it. 


OHIO,    1S16-1830.  293 

nt  Blooinfieki,  aiid  Jacob  Coon  at  Crab  Apple.  Four 
churches  were  vacant,  and  nine  had  stated  supi)lics. 

The  reported  membership  of  the  churches  of  the 
several  Presbyteries  in  1831'  was  as  follows: — churches 
of  Hartford  Presbytery,  two  thousand  nine  hundred 
and  twenty-one,  of  Grand  River,  twelve  hundred  and 
eighty-five,  of  Portage,  eleven  hundred  and  thirty-five, 
of  Huron,  four  hundred  and  sixty -seven,  of  Trumbull, 
six  hundred  and  ninety,  of  Cleveland,  six  hundred  and 
sixty-eight,  of  Columbus,  sixteen  hundred  and  thirty- 
six,  of  Eichland,  tw^o  thousand  four  hundred  and  sixty- 
six,  of  Lancaster,  seventeen  hundred  and  fifty-seven, 
of  Athens,  eight  hundred  and  ninety-four,  of  Chilli- 
cothe,  two  thousand  and  ninety-eight,  of  Miami,  seven- 
teen hundred  and  seventy-nine,  of  Cincinnati,  three 
thousand  one  hundred  and  ninety-four,  of  Oxford, 
eleven  hundred  and  forty,  and  of  Steubenville.  two 
thousand  two  hundred  and  twenty-eight;  making  a 
total  of  twenty-six  thousand  five  hundred  and  six. 

Such  had  been  the  growth  of  the  Church  on  a  field 
where  but  about  a  quarter  of  a  century  j)i'evious  there 
was  only  here  and  there  an  opening  in  the  forest  or  a 
solitary  settlement  of  a  few  log  cabins.  The  labor  that 
had  been  performed,  the  energy  that  had  been  evoked 
in  the  conflict  with  rude  nature,  planting  a  ripe  civiliza- 
tion in  the  heart  of  the  wilderness  which  for  uncounted 
centuries  had  been  the  hunting-ground  of  the  savage, 
should  not  be  denied  due  honor;  but  no  record,  even 
were  it  possible  that  it  should  exist  or  be  preserved, 
could  do  justice  to  the  Christian  enterprise  and  indefa- 
tigable energy  of  the  men  who  traversed  the  new  State, 
planting  along  their  Avay  the  institutions  of  the  gospel, 
or  lighting  up  their  missionary-route  by  the  rekindled 
flames  of  piety  and  devotion. 

1  Virtually,  at  the  close  of  1830. 
2.')* 


294  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

The  influences  that  gave  shape  and  training  to  the 
churches  of  Ohio  carne  from  diverse  sources.  The 
Western  Eeserve  only  was  largely  affected  by  New 
England  immigration.  Yet  here  up  to  1815  the  ma- 
jority of  the  settlers  were  not  from  New  England. 
The  remoteness  of  the  field  forced  the  Connecticut 
Society — as  already  noted — to  call  upon  the  Synod  of 
Pittsburg  for  the  men  to  employ  in  the  field;  and  for 
many  years  but  a  small  number  of  Congregational 
ministers  were  sent  out.  Till  after  1812,  less  than  one- 
third,  probabl}^,  of  the  missionaries  of  the  Western  Re- 
serve had  been  educated  in  New  England.  In  1836,  of 
the  one  hundred  and  sixty  ministers  who  had  labored 
in  connection  with  the  churches,  twenty-nine  had  been 
educated  at  Andover,  eight  at  New  Haven,  fifteen  at 
Princeton,  seventeen  at  Auburn,  and  seventy-three  with- 
out seminary  training.^ 

The  southeastern  portion  of  the  State  came,  from  the 
first,  almost  exclusively  under  the  influence  of  the  Pitts- 
burg Synod.  Its  ministers  were  largely  educated  at 
Canonsburg  Academy  (Jefferson  College)  or  at  Wash- 
ington College.  Pittsburg  was  itself  the  gateway  of 
emigration  to  this  portion  of  the  State.  The  region 
at  the  Southwest  around  Cincinnati  and  along  the 
Miamies  came  from  the  first  under  the  influence  and 
^ecclesiastical  jurisdiction  of  the  S3'nod  of  Kentucky. 
All  the  early  churches  belonged  to  this  Synod,  and 
nearly  the  entire  immigration  in  Southern  Ohio  for  the 
first  fifteen  years  of  the  century  was  from  Kentucky, 
Virginia,  New  Jersey,  Central  and  Western  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  New  York. 

Among  the  ministers  on  this  field  to  whom  the 
Church  and  State  are  alike  indebted,  there  are  not  a 
few  whose  worth  is  quite  disproportioned  to  the  brief 


1  American  Quarterly  Kegistcr,  viiL  329. 


OHIO,  1816-1C30.  295 

record  which  wo  must  make  of  their  career.  Con- 
nected by  the  scenes  of  their  labor  with  the  Reserve 
were  Joseph  Badger,  more  than  forty  years  old  Avhen 
he  entered  the  field,  but  full  of  energy  and  enterprise, 
equally  ready  to  organize  a  church  or  establish  a  mis- 
sion, to  frame  a  barn  or  supervise  schools,  and  who  was 
spared  till  his  ninetieth  year  (1846)  to  witness  the  in- 
gathering of  harvests  from  seed  he  had  sown  almost 
half  a  century  before;  Jonathan  Leslie,  long  a  labo- 
rious missionary,  and  carrying  with  him  from  Jefferson 
College  the  spirit  of  those  among  whom  he  had  been 
trained;  John  Seward,  of  Aurora,  retaining  to  the  last 
his  sturdy  New  England  sympathies  and  attachment 
to  sound  doctrine;  Caleb  Pitkin,  William  Hanford,  and 
Joseph  Treat,  kindred  with  him  in  spirit  and  effort; 
Charles  Backus  Storrs,  Theological  Professor  and  at 
length  (1831)  President  of  Western  Reserve  College, 
modest  but  resolute,  indefatigable  in  study,  single  in 
his  aims,  and  ever  blending  dignity  with  gentleness; 
Alvan  Coe,  whose  energy  was  ever  seeking  missionary 
channels  through  which  to  pour  itself  forth;  Giles  H. 
Cowles,  Alfred  H.  Betts,  Harvey  Coe,  and  not  a  few 
others  whose  memory  still  lives  amid  the  scenes  of 
their  cheerful  self-denial  and  toil. 

Some  of  these  were  veterans  when  they  entered  the 
field.  Dr.  Cowles,  a  graduate  of  Yale  in  1789,  a  theo- 
logical pupil  of  the  younger  Edwards,  and  a  licentiate 
of  a  Connecticut  Association,  had  been  settled  for 
eighteen  years  at  Bristol,  Conn.  In  1811,  after  having 
first  visited  the  Reserve  as  a  missionary,  he  set  out  on 
his  journey  to  the  far  West,  accompanied  by  his  family, 
consisting  of  a  Avife  and  eight  children.  It  was  five 
weeks  before  he  reached  his  destination.  For  twenty- 
two  years  he  spent  half  his  time  as  a  missionary  of 
the  Connecticut  Society,  forming  new  churches  or  sup- 
plying the    destitute,   while  Austinburg   and    Morgan 


290  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

congregations  formed  bis  stated  charge.  A  man  of  the 
true  Puritan  stamp,  Avith  common  sense  rather  than 
genius,  but  resolutely  toiling  on  and  refusing  to  submit 
to  indolent  repose,  his  gravity  of  manner  in  keeping 
with  his  devotion  to  principle  and  the  serious  purpose 
of  his  life,  he  never  failed  of  fulfilling  an  appointment 
but  in  a  single  instance;  and  this  was  on  the  occasion 
of  the  death  of  a  beloved  son.  His  Congregational 
sympathies  were  undisguised;  but  his  attachment  to 
Bound  doctrine  was  not  inferior  to  that  of  the  foremost 
members  of  the  Pittsburg  Synod.* 

Alfred  H.  Betts  was  born  at  Norwalk,  Conn.,  in  1786. 
Having  studied  medicine,  he  removed  to  Florence,  Ohio, 
where  at  a  private  house  he  established  a  meeting 
which  was  attended  with  a  blessing.  Feeling  that  his 
call  to  the  ministry  was  clear,  he  studied  theology  with 
Dr.  Hanford,  of  Hudson,  and  for  four  years  labored  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Florence.  In  1821  he  was  in- 
stalled  pastor  of  Brownhelm  Church.  After  some 
years  he  extended  his  labors  to  Vermillion  and  Wake- 
man  Churches.  Sincere,  self-denying,  liberal  and  de- 
voted, direct,  simple,  and  earnest  as  a  preacher,  he 
was  the  model  of  a  guileless  New  England  Puritan. 
In  1835,  he  was  forced  from  ill  health  to  resign  his 
charge;  but  he  labored  more  or  less  till  his  death  in 
1860. 

William  Hanford  was  a  native  of  Norwalk,  Conn.,  a 
graduate  of  Yale  College  in  1808,  and  of  Andover 
Seminary  in  1813.  Upon  his  licensure,  soon  after,  he 
removed  to  Ohio,  taking  charge  for  many  years  of  the 
church  of  Hudson,  and  subsequentl}^  of  those  of  Wind- 


'  In  1816,  a  powerful  revival  prevailed  under  the  ministry  of  Dr. 
Cowlcs  at  Austinburg  and  Morgan.  It  extended  to  some  of  the  ad- 
joining towns,  and  among  the  fruits  of  it  about  one  hundred  per- 
sons were  added  to  the  church  of  .\ustinburg  alone. 


OHIO,    181G-1S30.  297 

ham  and  Middlcbiny.  lie  died  at  Tallmadgc,  May  31, 
1861.  Wise,  faithful,  and  laborious  as  a  pastor,  his  min- 
istry was  largely  blessed.  His  integrity  and  upright- 
ness commanded  implicit  confidence. 

Hai'vey  Coc  was  born  at  Granville,  Mass.,  Oct.  6, 
1785.  He  was  graduated  at  Williams  College  in  1811, 
and  studied  theolog}^  under  President  Fitch  and  Drs. 
Woodbridge  and  Coolc}'.  Iwemoving  to  the  AVest,  he 
w^as  settled  in  1814  over  the  united  congregations  of 
Hartford,  Vernon,  and  Kinsman,  and  for  some  years 
was  the  only  settled  pastor  in  that  part  of  the  country. 
His  labors  were  crowned  with  a  powerful  revival,  in 
connection  with  which  nearly  two  hundred  persons 
were  hopefully  converted.  He  was  a  zealous  friend  of 
Western  Reserve  College,  and  in  1833  became  agent 
for  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign. 
Missions.     His  death  occurred  in  March,  1860. 

At  Steubenville,  successively  pastors  of  the  church 
were  Obadiah  Jennings  and  C.  C.  Beatty, — the  last  no 
unworthy  descendant  of  Dr.  Beatty  of  ante-Revolu- 
tionary and  missionary  memory,  and  the  former  an 
able  lawyer  befoi-e  he  entered  upon  the  ministry,  and 
ever  after  eminent  as  a  reasoner  and  a  disputant,  while 
exemplary  in  the  discharge  of  pastoral  duty.^  Memo- 
rable also  are  Dr.  Hoge,  of  Columbus,  devout,  self-den}''- 
ing,  the  patriarch  of  the  Presbytery,  if  not  its  Nestor, 
for  many  years;  Thomas  Barr,  till  1820  at  Euclid,  but 
with  his  Presbyterian  sympathies  removing  to  Wooster 
and  Apjile  Creek  Churches,  and  here  exemplifying  the 
virtues  of  the  discreet  and  devoted  pastor;  Thomas 
Moore,  zealous  in  the  cause  of  Calvinism  and  revivals, 
and  transferring  his  missionary  experience  in  Ohio 
Presbytery  to  regions  still  f^irther  west;  "Father"  Gil- 
iiland,  of  Red  Oak,  Matthew  G.  Wallace,  the  patriarch 

•  He  died,  while  pastor  of  the  church  in  Nashville,  in  1828. 


298  HISTORY    OF    TRESBYTERIANISM. 

of  Miami  Presbytciy,  Dr.  Robert  H.  Bishop,  at  the  head 
of  the  University  at  Oxford,  and  Dr.  Joshua  L.  Wilson, 
at  Cincinnati. 

The  interests  of  coliogiate  as  well  as  common-school 
oducatiou  had  not  been  overlooked  during  the  period 
that  has  been  passed  in  review.  As  early  as  1804,  the 
University  of  Ohio  was  established  at  Athens,  and 
among  the  ministers  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  whose 
names  grace  its  history  at  this  period  (1825)  were 
Samuel  D.  Iloge, — brother  of  Dr.  Hoge,  of  Columbus, 
but  already  the  subject  of  that  disease  which  was  to 
out  him  off  in  the  strength  and  promise  of  early  man- 
hood,— Jacob  Lindsley,  for  sevei-al  years  a  professor  in 
the  institution,  and  Robert  G.  Wilson,  the  pioneer  mis- 
sionary and  pastor  at  Chillicothe,  who  in  1824  accepted 
the  Presidency  of  the  university. 

Miami  University  was  established  in  1824,  at  Oxford; 
and  already  the  project  was  agitated  which  issued  in 
the  establishment  of  Western  Reserve  College  in  1826. 
Of  the  first-mentioned  institution,  Rev.  Dr.  Robert  II. 
Bishop  had  just  accepted  the  post  of  President.  He 
was  a  native  of  Scotland,  a  graduate  of  the  University 
of  Edinburgh,  and  a  pupil  of  Finlayson  and  Dugald 
Stewart.  His  earliest  ecclesiastical  connection  w^as  with 
the  Associate  Synod,  and  through  the  representations 
of  Dr.  John  M.  Mason  he  was  led,  with  other  Scottish 
ministers,  to  emigrate  to  this  country.  Por  nearlj^  two 
years  he  itinerated  as  a  missionary  in  Kentucky  and 
in  Miami  Valley.  He  finally  settled  at  Lexington,  and 
soon  after  accepted  a  professorship  in  Transylvania 
University.  Here  he  remaltied  for  several  j-ears;  but 
between  him  and  President  Ilolley,  with  the  views 
which  they  respectively  entertained  on  subjects  of  re- 
ligious doctrine,  there  could  be  little  sympathj^  When 
the  State  of  Ohio,  therefore,  established  Miami  Uni- 
versity, he  readily  accepted  the  office  of  President  to 


KENTUCKY,    1S16-1830.  299 

■which  he  was  invited.  "  The  diligence,  self-denial,  nn- 
abuted  intei"est,  and  prayerfulncss,  with  which  he  prose- 
cuted his  work,  were  seen  and  known  of  all,  and  were 
repaid  by  the  increasing  confidence  of  the  community 
and  an  extended  career  of  usefulness,  the  results  of 
which  it  is  impossible  to  estimate."  For  seventeen 
years  he  administered  his  trust  with  discretion,  benefi- 
cence, and  success. 

In  1826  the  Western  Eeserve  College  was  established 
at  Hudson,  and,  according  to  the  intention  of  its  founders, 
a  Theological  department  was  connected  with  it.  The 
latter  in  1840  was  in  charge  of  three  professors,  Dr. 
Pierce  occupying  the  Theological  chair.  The  number 
of  students  was,  however,  only  fourteen. 


CHAPTEE   XXXIY. 

KENTUCKY,   1S16-1S30. 


The  close  of  the  war  left  the  Presbyterian  Church  in 
Kentuek}^  in  a  distracted  and  prostrate  condition.  But 
another  effect  of  it  had  been  to  revive  sympathy  with 
France,  and  give  a  new  impulse  to  the  spread  of  infidel 
sentiments.  Many  who  were  regarded  as  intellectual 
and  influential,  especially  among  professional  men,  were 
avowed  unbelievers.  In  many  places  with  a  large  popu- 
lation, there  was  no  trace  of  public  religious  worship. 
Samuel  J.  Mills,  on  his  Southwestern  tour,  spent  one 
Sabbath  in  Kentucky  in  a  town  of  two  to  three  thou- 
sand inhabitants,  without  being  able  to  collect  a  con- 
gregation to  listen  to  the  word  of  God.  Negroes  stood 
in  groups  in  the  street,  laughing  and  swearing,  boys 
played  and  hallooed,  while  the  men  on  the  outskirts 
of  the  place  were  engaged  in  shooting  pigeons,  or,  if 


300  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

of  the  more  respectable  class,  were  riding  abroad  for 
amusement.  The  Sabbath  was  distinguished  from  other 
days  only  by  greater  noise,  amusement,  profanity,  and 
dissipation.  This  was  by  no  means  a  solitary  instance. 
The  change  that  took  place  in  the  ten  years  subsequent 
may  be  judged  from  the  fact  that  this  same  town  then 
contained  three  large  and  flourishing  churches.^ 

The  adverse  influences  which  prevailed,  and  against 
which  the  Presbyterian  Church  had  to  contend,  culmi- 
nated in  the  act  of  the  Legislature  of  1818,  by  which, 
on  the  motion  of  some  of  its  members,  the  Board  of 
Trustees  of  Transylvania  University  were  suddenly  and 
summarily  ejected,  and  thirteen  new  trustees,  of  whom 
not  one  was  a  professor  of  religion  of  any  denomination, 
substituted  in  their  place.  The  act  was  a  gross  viola- 
tion of  the  charter  of  the  university,  a  usurpation  of 
its  legal  and  moral  rights.  It  wrested  the  institution 
from  Presbyterian  control.  Those  who  had  nurtured 
it  in  its  weakness,  and  labored  and  prayed  for  its  suc- 
cess, saw  it  suddenly  transferred  to  the  hands  of  men 
who  could  feel  little  sympathy  with  evangelical  religion. 
From  an  ally  it  was  perverted  into  an  instrument  of 
bitter  antagonism. 

This  strange  episode  in  the  history  of  the  Presbyterian 

^  Some  interesting  facts  in  the  history  of  the  Presbyterian  churches 
of  Kentucky  about  the  year  1818  may  be  gathered  from  Isaac  Reed's 
"Christian  Traveller."  In  that  year  Danville,  with  a  population  of 
twelve  hundred,  had  not  a  male  member  in  the  Presbyterian  Church ; 
and  the  only  other  house  of  worship  besides  that  in  which  Nelson 
preached  was  a  Romish  chapel.  There  were  many  Deists  in  the 
place. — P.  61. 

The  church  in  Frankfort  was  gathered  about  the  year  1816.  In 
1818,  Winchester  Church  had  a  membership  of  fifteen.  There  was 
but  one  male  member  living  in  the  town.  At  Springfield,  under  the 
ministry  of  N.  II.  Hall,  a  female  Praying-Society  existed,  the  only 
one  in  the  State.  More  than  thirty  counties  in  Kentucky  had  not 
a  single  Presbyterian  minister. 


KENTUCKY,    1816-1830.  301 

Church  of  Kentucky  is  deserving  of  more  than  a  passing 
notice.  In  1788  the  institution  had  been  removed  to 
Lexington.  But  the  tone  of  sentiment  which  prevailed 
among  the  leading  men  of  the  place  was  deeply  tinctured 
with  French  infidelity.  It  was  the  head-quarters  of  one 
of  the  Jacobin  clubs,  and  the  violent  sympathy  with 
every  thing  French  which  prevailed  there  was  espe- 
cially antagonistic  to  a  pure  Christianity.  The  results 
of  the  change  of  location  were  soon  seen  to  be  disas- 
trous. In  1794  the  Presbyterian  teacher  was  ejected, 
and  a  disciple  of  Priestley  appointed  to  succeed  him. 

The  new  principal  was  a  zealous  politician,  and  a 
sycophantic  satellite  of  Thomas  Jefferson.  He  was 
popular  with  the  Deistical  clubs.  But  the  Presbyterians 
felt  that  an  institution  over  Avhich  he  presided  was  no 
longer  of  any  value  to  them.  In  1794  they  issued  pro- 
posals for  a  new  institution, — a  grammar-school  that 
should  be  subject  to  their  control.  In  the  course  of  the 
same  year  they  secured  a  charter  for  "  The  Kentucky 
Academy."  This  measure  was  followed  up  by  vigorous 
efforts  to  secure  an  endowment.  "Father"  Eice  and 
Dr.  Blythe  made  collections  for  it  in  the  Atlantic  cities, 
havino-  secured  the  recommendation  of  the  General 
Assembly;  and  in  the  fall  of  1797  the  institution  was 
opened  at  Pisgah. 

It  speedily  outstripped  the  institution  at  Lexington, 
and  by  its  success  excited  alarm  among  the  friends  of 
the  university.  An  attempt  was  now  made  to  conciliate 
the  Presbyterians,  who  had  been  alienated  by  the  policy 
hitherto  pursued.  Provision  was  made  for  their  as- 
cendency, by  which  it  was  supposed  to  be  secured  against 
all  future  vicissitudes.  The  new  Board  of  twenty-one 
members  was  to  comprise  a  majority  of  Presbyterians, 
and  the  charter  was  not  to  be  altered  or  repealed  except 
on  petition  of  a  majority.  In  consequence  of  this  con- 
cession, and  by  act  of  the  Legislature,  the  two  instiT 

Vol.  II.— 26 


302  HISTORY    OF    PRKSBYTKRIANISM. 

tutions  wore  amalgamated  into  one  in  December, 
1798. 

Under  flattering  auspices  the  new  institution  com- 
menced its  career.  Tliree  professorsliips  were  founded, 
and  they  were  filled  by  Presbyterians, — Blj^the,  Stuart, 
and  Welch.  For  several  years  it  enjoj^ed  a  moderate 
degree  of  prosperity.  But  the  Board  was  divided  into 
two  hostile  parties,  and  a  worldly  policy  led  to  the  elec- 
tion of  prominent  political  characters  to  fill  the  vacancies 
which  occurred.  At  length  a  crisis  arrived,  and  it  was 
found  that  only  seven  of  the  twenty-one  members  of 
the  Board  were  Presbyterians. 

To  fill  the  office  of  President,  several  eminent  and 
excellent  men  were  successively  elected,  but  chose  to 
decline.  In  tiiis  state  of  things,  the  name  of  Rev.  Horace 
Holley,  of  Boston,  was  mentioned.  He  was  unani- 
mously chosen,  but  he  also  saw  fit  to  decline.  He  was 
re-elected  (1817),  but  with  less  unanimity.  His  Socinian 
views  were  more  than  suspected,  and  Dr.  Dwight,  who 
was  written  to  on  the  subject,  was  no  longer  disposed 
to  endorse  his  own  pupil.  But  the  majority  were  reso- 
lute in  their  purpose,  and  the  minority,  outvoted,  retired 
from  the  Board.  To  complete  the  mischief,  the  Legis- 
lature, by  an  arbitrary  and  uncalled-for  interference, 
violated  the  charter  by  appointing  a  new  Board,  not  a 
member  of  which  made  any  pretence  to  religion.  The 
Presbyterians  were  thus  dispossessed  at  a  stroke  of 
their  property  and  interest  in  an  institution  largely 
endowed  and  built  up  by  themselves. 

Dr.  Holley  visited  Kentucky  in  the  spring  of  1818.^ 
Flattered  by  the  attention  paid  him,  and  charmed  with 
his  hospitable  reception  and  the  seeming  promise  of  an 
institution  which,  under  his  control,  he  imagined  miglit 
become  the  most  distinguished  in  the  Great  Western 

iSec  Life  of  Dr.  Holley. 


KENTUCKY,    1816-1830.  303 

Valley,  his  decision  did  not  long  remain  doubtful.  He 
accepted  the  post  to  which  he  had  been  elected,  and 
removed  from  Boston  to  Lexington. 

The  new  President  entered  upon  the  duties  of  his 
office  with  great  eclat.  At  first  he  studied  conciliation. 
Some  of  the  Presbyterians  even  felt  encouraged  to  hope 
that  the  institution  might  again  begin  to  answer  the 
design  of  its  founders.  Dr.  Ilollcy  was  a  man  of  bril- 
liant talents,  of  pleasing  person  and  manners,  and  of 
great  eloquence.  Nature  and  education  alike  had  done 
much  for  him.  He  was  eulogized  and  idolized  by  his 
friends.  He  boasted  a  large  and  catholic  spirit,  and  a 
contempt  for  sectarian  prejudice.  He  fondly  hoped  to 
rally  around  him  the  popular  sj-nipathy  and  engage  all 
denominations  in  the  support  of  the  institution. 

But  his  proclivities  soon  discovered  themselves.  "With 
all  his  boasts  of  liberality,  he  was  a  bitter  opponent  of 
evangelical  religion.  In  the  very  wa-itings  which  were 
put  forth  subsequently  in  his  own  defence,  the  hand  of 
affection  could  not  suppress  the  decisive  evidence  that 
he  was  in  full  sympathy  with  a  no-creed  TTnitarianism. 
Such  was  not  the  man  to  conciliate  the  friends  of  sound 
religion  among  the  Baptists  and  Methodists,  any  more 
than  among  the  Presbyterians.  But  the  latter  first  took 
the  alarm.  They  petitioned  the  Legislature  (1818)  for 
a  charter  of  a  new  college,  to  be  erected  at  Danville.^ 


1  The  Synod  of  Kentucky  in  1818  resolved  to  establish  Centre  Col- 
lege at  Danville.  They  were,  doubtless,  encouraged  in  this  measure 
by  the  revivals  of  the  preceding  year.  There  had  been  "a  glorious 
accession"  to  the  Church,  especially  in  West  Lexington  Presbytery. 
In  Concord,  Mt.  Pleasant,  and  Paris,  the  work  had  been  "particu- 
larly conspicuous."  Fleming,  Smyrna,  Point  Pleasant,  Sugar  Ridge, 
Springfield,  and  Augusta  congregations  had  also  been  visited. — 
Christian  Herald,  v.  596. 

At  Lexington  a  powerful  revival  prevailed  in  1817.  A  writer  ia 
the  "Christian  Herald"  during  that  year  says,  "More  than  one  hun- 


304  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

The  cliarter  was  granted,  but  so  modified  as  to  place 
the  control  of  the  institution  and  its  funds  in  the  hands 
of  the  Legislature  instead  of  the  Synod.  In  this  shape 
it  was  unhesitatingly  refused.  Twice  already  the  Legis- 
lature had  betrayed  its  trust,  and  the  Synod  had  learned 
not  to  put  its  "  trust  in  princes." 

The  work  of  excluding  the  Presbyterians  from  their 
posts  in  Transylvania  University  now  proceeded.  Dr. 
Bishop  was  forced  to  leave,  and  Dr.  Blythe  and  Mr. 
Sharpe  felt  constrained  to  resign.  Meanwhile  Dr. 
Holley,  in  his  instructions  from  the  pulpit  and  the 
chair,  justified  the  worst  apprehensions  excited  by  his 
antecedents.  Popular  dissatisfaction  was  manifested, 
and  the  Board  felt  itself  compelled  to  retrace  its  steps. 
Dr.  Blythe  was  recalled,  and  for  several  years  matters 
went  on  smoothly.  The  President  enjoyed  an  almost 
unbounded  popularity.  The  Presbyterians  were  reduced 
to  silence,  and  the  country  rang  with  praises  of  the  uni- 
versity and  its  brilliant  President.  The  success  of  the 
law  and  medical  schools  connected  with  the  university 
contributed  not  a  little  to  this  result. 

The  personal  attractions  of  Dr.  Holley,  his  gay  and 
genial  spirit,  his  social  parties,  with  music,  cards,  and 
dancing,  his  frequent  and  sumptuous  entertainments, 
accomj)anied  by  all  that  coxild  charm  the  tasteful  and 
refined,  united  to  give  new  lustre  to  his  fame.  The 
Legislature  Avere  won  by  his  tact,  and  extended  their 
liberality  to  the  university.     But  the  friends  of  reli- 

dred  and  twenty-three  have  already  been  baptized  in  the  name  of 
the  Lord.  Great  seriousness  continues  to  be  manifested.  Hundreds 
are,  with  broken  hearts,  inquiring  the  way  to  Zion."  The  surround- 
ing region,  previously  given  up  to  desperate  iniquity,  was  power- 
fully afifected,  and  four  or  five  hundred  were  added  to  the  churches. 
— Christian  Herald,  iii.  302. 

The  address  of  the  Synod  on  the  project  of  the  establishment  of 
the  college  at  Danville  is  to  be  found  in  the  Christian  Herald,  v.  597. 


KENTUCKY,    1816-1830.  305 

gion  were  more  dissiitisfied  than  over.  Dr.  Holley'a 
sermons  were  little  better  than  eloquent  Deism  with 
the  ifiltliiig  of  Christian  phraseology.  Public  opinion 
began  to  be  freel}'  expressed.  It  found  new  provoca- 
tion in  the  publication  of  the  "Transylvania  Theses,'' 
or  Latin  exercises  of  the  students,  which  showed  only 
too  plainly  that  the  rationalistic  views  of  the  Pre- 
sident were  bearing  fruit  in  the  minds  of  his  pupils. 
In  October,  1823,  the  Synod  renewed  the  projiosal  of  a 
college  at  Danville.  A  conference  was  had  with  the 
Trustees  of  Centre  College  to  effect  a  reorganization. 
It. was  successful  in  its  object.  Arrangements  were 
made  to  secure  in  behalf  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
an  institution  of  which  they  might  have  the  control.  It 
was  a  step  to  which  they  were  impelled  by  an  obvious 
necessity.  The  views  of  Dr.  Holley  had  now  become 
too  obviously  antagonistic  to  evangelical  religion  to 
allow  an}^  longer  delay.  He  ridiculed  the  doctrines  of 
human  depravity,  the  efficacy  of  prayer,  and  atonement 
through  "  Christ  crucified."  His  lessons  in  morals  may 
be  judged  from  his  address  to  the  students: — "Young 
gentlemen,  whatever  you  find  within  you,  cherish  it, 
for  it  is  a  part  of  your  nature  :  restrain  it  not." 

The  attempt  at  conciliation  was  alike  foolish  and 
vain.  It  proposed  to  have  divine  service  performed  in 
the  chapel  by  each  of  the  clergymen  of  Lexington,  in- 
cluding the  Episcopalian  and  Roman  Catholic.  The 
two  Presbyterian  pastors,  N.  H.  Hall  and  John  Breck- 
enridge,  refused  to  have  any  thing  to  do  with  the  plan. 
Even  Dr.  Fishback,  a  Baptist  clergyman,  found  himself 
at  one  of  the  public  examinations  brought  into  collision 
wnth  the  President  on  points  connected  with  divine 
revelation,  and  resigned  his  post  as  preacher  and  trustee. 
The  plan  proposed  brought  out  a  multitude  of  pamphlets 
in  opposition  to  it,  re})lete  with  irony  and  satire. 

The  fortunes  of  Dr.  Holley  and  of  the  university  were 

26« 


306  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

decidedly  on  the  wane.  A  Roman  Catholic  college  was 
started  at  Bardstown,  and  the  amended  charter  of  Centre 
College    answered   the    desires   of  the  Presbyterians.^ 


1  The  circumstances  in  which  the  charter  was  secured  are  worthy 
to  be  narrated.  Its  grant  was  violently  opposed  by  the  friends  of 
Transylvania  University  and  other  rival  institutions.  There  was 
danger  of  its  being  denied;  and  Rev.  S.  K.  Nelson  went  to  Frankfort 
to  use  his  personal  influence  in  favor  of  the  application.  Dr.  Cle- 
land  was  sent  for,  for  the  same  purpose.  The  two  men  met  on  the 
way.  They  conversed  of  the  business  in  hand.  Cleland  related  an 
amusing  anecdote,  appropriate  as  illustrating  the  folly  of  the  oppo- 
sition in  making  a  bugbear  of  sectarianism.  "Go  to  Frankfort," 
said  Mr.  Nelson,  "and  tell  that  story,  and  you  will  get  your  charter." 

Dr.  Cleland  knew  his  man,  and  gave  him  the  story  to  use.  The 
opponent  of  the  charter,  a  Baptist,  and  a  friend  of  the  university, 
entered  the  hall  of  the  Legislature  with  an  armfull  of  books,  and  a 
servant  with  a  wheelbarrow-load  behind  him.  In  a  violent  philippic 
of  several  hours,  he  endeavored  to  excite  indignation  against  Pres- 
byterian lust  of  domination  and  desire  to  unite  Church  and  State. 
When  he  had  ended.  Colonel  James  Davidson,  a  man  of  much  dry 
humor  and  a  deep  sonorous  voice,  gravely  told  a  simple  anecdote  by 
way  of  illustrating  the  terrors  which  had  been  so  awfully  presented. 
"An  Irish  Redemptioner  lost  himself  in  the  woods  one  evening.  He 
had  heard  a  great  deal  of  the  Indians;  and  the  novel  sights  and 
sounds  around  him  inspired  him  with  such  alarm  that  he  climbed  a 
tree  for  safety  and  spent  a  sleepless  night.  When  found  the  next 
day,  he  narrated  his  perils.  The  fireflies  he  mistook  for  savages  in 
quest  of  him.  The  screams  of  the  whippoorwills  were  mistaken 
by  him  for  menaces  of  destruction.  '  Whip  him  well !  whip  him  well ! 
cut  and  slash!  cut  and  slash!  and  the  fire  flew  all  the  time,'  said  he, 
'like  the  de'il!  In  short,  he  did  not  know  what  would  become  of 
him,  had  it  not  been  for  the  swate  heavenly  bairds,' — meaning  the 
bull-frogs, —  'who  kept  calling  out,  "  Motheration  !  motheration  !"  ' 
"Now,"  said  Colonel  Davidson,  "when  I  heard  the  honorable  mem- 
ber conjuring  up  all  those  dreadful  hobgoblins,  they  appeared  to  me 
of  the  same  imaginary  character  as  the  poor  Irishman's  terrors,  and 
I  felt  an  irresistible  impulse  to  rise  up  in  my  place  and  call  out, 
'Motheration!  motheration!'"  The  ludicrous  anecdote,  related  in 
the  dryest  manner  and  with  his  gravest  intonations,  convulsed  the 
house  with  laughter.    It  is  needless  to  say  that  advantage  was  taken 


KENTUCKY,    1816-1830.  307 

Meanwhile,  the  mismanagement  of  the  funds  of  the 
university  which  had  been  brought  to  light  exposed 
it  to  new  odium.  The  Baptists  had  been  alienated  by 
the  resignation  of  Dr.  Fishback,  the  recriminations 
heaped  upon  him  for  it,  and  the  statement  of  facts 
which  he  felt  himself  constrained  to  issue  in  his  defence. 
Matters  were  verging  to  a  crisis.  It  was  useless  to 
stem  the  tide.  The  experiment  of  Dr.  Holley  was  a 
failure.  He  was  chagrined  at  the  decreasing  number 
of  the  students  and  the  ujirising  of  rival  institutions. 
Politically  he  had  incurred  the  odium  of  one  of  the 
parties  of  the  day,  and,  despairing  of  further  aid  from 
the  Legislature,  he  resigned  his  post.  Lexington  had 
idolized  him  as  her  brightest  ornament.  His  jjupils, 
many  of  them,  regarded  him  not  only  with  the  highest 
respect,  but  the  warmest  affection.  But  the  magnifi- 
cent vision  which  nine  years  before,  at  his  entrance 
upon  his  task,  rose  to  his  view,  was  slowly  but  surely 
melting  away.  He  turned  with  despondency  and  sad 
regrets  to  another  field,  a  disappointed  man.  An  un- 
timely death  a  few  months  later  closed  his  brief  but 
brilliant  career. 

With  his  departure  the  university  received  a  blow  only 
less  ruinous  than  that  which  his  own  mistaken  policy  had 
inflicted.  Eival  after  rival  started  up  in  successful  compe- 
tition with  it.  Trusted  by  no  denomination,  the  course 
of  President  Holley  had  alienated  all.  The  Presbyterians 
struggled  on  with  a  half-endowed  college  at  Danville, 
while  the  Eoman  Catholics  at  Bardstown,  the  Cumber- 
land Presbj-terians  at  Princeton,  the  Methodists  at  Au- 
gusta, the  Baptists  at  Georgetown,  and  the  Campbellites 
at  Harrodsburg,  had  a  somewhat  kindred  experience. 

The   successors  of  Dr.  Holley  were    eminent   men. 

of  the  good  humor  thus  induced  to  secure  the  charter. — Life  of  Cle- 
land,  and  Davidson's  Kcntuchy. 


308  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

Among  them  were  Drs.  Coit  and  Baseom.  But  they 
could  not  restore  the  institution  to  the  position  it  had 
lost.  It  has  steadily  continued  to  languish.  Centre 
College  had  to  labor  under  grave  and  manifold  embar- 
rassments, but  it  at  length  gave  promise  of  independ- 
ence and  prosperity.  Its  successive  Presidents  were 
Jeremiah  Chamberlain/  David  C.  Procter,  Gideon  Black- 
burn, and  John  C.  Young  In  1828  a  Theological  de- 
partment was  attached  to  it,  modelled  after  that  of 
Princeton.  The  difficulty  of  raising  the  necessary  funds 
led  to  its  abandonment  in  1831.  This,  however,  was  to 
be  but  a  temporary  relinquishment  of  the  project.  The 
college  was  still  in  successful  operation.  In  1840  an 
effort,  in  part  successful,  was  made  to  raise  the  endow- 
ment to  one  hundred  thousand  dollars.  Subsequent 
efforts  have  greatl}^  enlarged  its  resources,  and  nearly 
two  thousand  students  have  issued  from  its  halls.  Pro- 
bably two-thirds  of  the  Presbyterian  clergy  of  the  State 
are  included  in  the  number.  The  necessity  of  denomi- 
national education  demanded  in  the  circumstances  the 
taking  of  a  step  the  results  of  which  have  justified  its 
wisdom.^ 

1  The  principal  founder  of  the  college  was  Samuel  Kelsey  Nelson, 
pastor  of  the  Danville  Church  The  terms  of  the  charter  required 
that  twenty  thousand  dollars  should  he  paid  into  the  treasury  before  a 
Board  of  Trustees  could  be  elected  by  the  Synod.  Mr.  Nelson  headed 
the  subscription  by  a  note  of  eight  hundred  dollars,  and  ministers 
of  the  Synod  gave  their  individual  bonds  for  the  balance. — Sprague, 
iv.  416. 

The  original  charter  of  the  college  was  secured  in  1819.  Jeremiah 
Chamberlain,  the  first  President,  went  into  office  in  1823.  After  a 
temporary  occupancy  of  the  office  by  David  C.  Procter,  he  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Dr.  Gideon  Blackburn  in  1827,  and  in  1830  by  John  C. 
Young,  D.D.,  whose  deatli  occurred  June  23,  18-37.  On  the  1st  of 
January,  1858,  Rev.  L.  W.  Green  w:i,s  inaugurated  his  successor. — 
Fresbj/tcrian  Ilerahl,  .Inly  14,  1801. 

2  Davidson's  Kentucky. 


KENTUCKY,    1816-1830.  309 

From  1826  to  1829,  the  Church  iu  Kentucky  -was  sig- 
nally blessed  by  revivals.  The  Spirit  Avas  copiously 
poured  out  on  Centre  College.  More  than  thirty  pro- 
minent towns  or  cities  were  the  scenes  of  remarkable 
displays  of  divine  grace.  The  additions  to  the  churches 
in  1828  and  1829  were  reported  to  be  upward  of  four 
thousand. 

The  most  marked  instance  of  the  power  of  the  re- 
vival over  a  whole  community  was  at  Lexington.  Five 
hundred  persons  were  added  to  the  Church.  Infidelity 
and  Unitarianism,  which  had  so  long  and  extensively 
prevailed,  lost  their  ascendency.  Evangelical  truth 
regained  the  ground  that  had  been  lost  by  the  adverse 
influences  which  had  been  so  sadly  dominant. 

Indeed,  it  was  at  Lexington  that  the  revival  may  be 
said  fairly  to  have  commenced.  The  Rev.  Nathan  H. 
Hall,  pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,'  with 
the  approbation  of  his  brethren,  held  a  protracted 
meeting  for  four  days,  the  first  of  the  kind  which  had 
been  held  in  that  region  since  the  revival  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  century.  The  meeting  of  Synod 
was  held  the  same  week,  and  its  members  returned  to 
their  respective  charges  with  hearts  kindled  and  im- 
pressed by  the  scenes  which  they  had  witnessed.  Thus 
the  spirit  of  the  revival  was  spread  abroad.  Eev.  Frede- 
rick A.  Ross  and  Rev.  James  Gallaher  acted  a  conspicuous 
part  as  itinerant  evangelists  or  revival  preachers.  They 
travelled  extensively  in  Kentucky  and  Ohio,  and  their 

1  In  1796,  James  Welsh  was  settled  as  pastor  of  Lexington  and 
Georgetown  Churches.  Soon  after,  James  Blythe  was  elected  his 
colleague,  and  subsequently  succeeded  him  at  Lexington.  In  1807, 
Robert  M.  Cunningham  was  settled  as  colleague  of  Dr.  Blythe. 
His  pastorate  extended  to  1822,  and  his  successor  was  Nathan  H. 
Ilall.  The  Second  Church  was  gathered  by  James  McChord  iu 
1814.  He  died  in  1820,  having  left  Lexington  in  the  preceding 
year.     His  successor  was  John  Breckinridge. 


310  HISTORY    OF    TRESBYTERIANISM. 

labors  were  successful  in  producing  great  religious 
awakening.  The  old  system  of  camp-meetings  was 
revived,  and  the  occasions  for  them  were  sometimes 
unnecessarily  multiplied.  The  "  anxious  seat"  and 
other  methods  of  testing  and  strengthening  the  reli- 
gious excitement  were  extensively  adopted.  At  length 
disorders  began  to  creep  in.  Something  of  the  previous 
experience  of  the  revival  of  1800  was  renewed,  and  the 
camp-meetings,  discountenanced  by  the  more  judicious, 
fell  into  disuse. 

Among  the  eminent  names  which  grace  this  period 
of  the  history  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Kentucky, 
those  of  Hall,  Breckinridge,  the  Nelsons,  Cunningham, 
Stuart,  and  Cleland  deserve  notice. 

Of  Stuart  and  Cleland  mention  has  already  been 
made.  Eobert  M.  Cunningham  was  a  native  of  Penn- 
sylvania, a  resident  for  some  years  of  North  Carolina, 
and  a  graduate  of  Dickinson  College.  On  comj)leting 
his  education,  he  connected  himself  with  the  First  Pres- 
bytery of  South  Carolina,  and  was  licensed  to  preach 
in  1792.  He  labored  for  several  years  within  its  bounds, 
organized  one  church  and  helped  to  build  up  several 
others.  He  was  one  of  the  five  ministers  set  off  from 
the  Presbytery  of  South  Carolina  in  1796  to  form  the 
new  Presbytery  of  Hopewell. 

In  1807  he  removed  to  Lexington  and  was  installed 
as  colleague  of  Dr.  Bl^'the.  He  was  "  a  kind  of  White- 
field  in  his  zeal  and  pathos,  and  untiring  appeals  to 
dying  men  in  his  public  discourses."  Although  "  not  a 
great  preacher,"  he  uttered  the  truth  with  a  tenderness 
rarel}'  equalled.  Commanding  in  person,  distinct  in 
utterance,  clear  in  thought,  and  attractive  by  his  ear- 
nestness, his  goodness  of  heart  was  manifest  to  all. 
His  influence  was  extensive,  healthful,  and  blessed.  His 
closing  years  Avere  spent  in  a  more  Southern  field. 

John   Breckinridge   was  born   at   Cabell's  Dale,   on 


KENTUCKY,    1816-1830.  311 

North  Elkhorn,  Ky.,  in  1797.     His  father  was  Jeffer- 
son's Attorney-General.     He  was  educated  at  Prince- 
ton, graduating  with  high  honor  in  1818.    After  serving 
as  tutor  for  some  years,  and  pursuing  at  the  same  time 
his  theological   studies,  he  was  licensed  to  preach  in 
1822.     For  a  few  months  he  was  chaplain  of  the  House 
of  Eepresentatives,  and  then  transferred  his  relations 
to  the  West  Lexington  Presbyteiy.     As  pastor  of  the 
MeChord    Church   at   Lexington,    and    editor   of   the 
"  Western  Luminary,"  he  came  into  direct  antagonism 
"with  the  plans  and  policy  of  Dr.  Holley,  and  contri- 
buted in  no  small  measure  to  the  impulse  which  secured 
for  the   Presbyterian    Church  a  college   at  Danville. 
Although  soon  removed  to  other  and  in  some  respects 
more  distinguished  spheres  of  labor  at  the  East,  he  left 
behind  him  a  deep  and  permanent  impression.     Cour- 
teous, hospitable,  kindly  in  manner  and  feeling,  he  was 
bold,  intrepid,  and  zealous  in  defence  of  what  he  re- 
garded as  just  and  true.     On  a  memorable  occasion, 
when  he  had  employed  expressions  that  were  hissed  as 
objectionable,  he  paused  a  moment,  and  then,  drawing 
himself  uj)  to  his  full  height,  while  a  smile  of  conscious 
strength  plaj^ed  about  his  mouth,  he  exclaimed,  with 
undaunted  firmness,  "  I  am  not  to  be  put  down  by  hisses 
or  by  threats.     I  was  cradled  where  the  Indian  war- 
whoop  yet  mingled  with  the  infant's  lullaby,  and  trained, 
by  a  mother  whose  earliest  lessons  taught  me,  next  to 
the  fear  of  God,  not  to  be  afraid  of  man."     The  effect 
of  this  utterance,  delivered  in  an  appropriate  manner, 
was  electric.     There  was  no  further  interruption,  and 
he  closed  his  address  amid  enthusiastic  applause.* 

Kentucky  might  well  be  proud  of  such  a  son.  He 
occupied  the  foremost  rank  among  the  pulpit-orators 
of  the  nation.    All  classes  were  alike  captivated  by  his 

'  Sprague's  Annals. 


312  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

earnest,  thrilling  eloquence.  The  enthusiasm  of  his 
nature  glowed,  when  he  spoke,  in  every  feature,  and 
communicated  itself  to  all  who  heard  him.  No  popular 
odium  could  deter  him  from  duty.  He  was  a  "  Christian 
gentleman ;"  but  he  was  "  a  Kentuckian ;"  nor  was  he  the 
man  to  shrink  from  controversy  when  fairly  challenged. 
In  his  discussion  of  Romanism  with  Bishop  Hughes,  he 
proved  himself  no  contemptible  antagonist.  Inces- 
santly active,  he  closed  a  life  too  short  for  the  service  of 
the  Church.  Yet,  short  as  it  was,  it  was  chai-acterized 
beyond  most  others  by  high  and  large  achievements. 

The  course  of  his  predecessor  in  the  pastorate  of  the 
church  at  Lexington  was  somewhat  similar  to  his  own, 
— brief  but  brilliant.  From  his  early  years,  James 
McChord  had  shown  a  remarkable  taste  and  passion  for 
studious  pursuits.  He  studied  law  with  Henry  Clay; 
but  his  religious  training  would  not  allow  him  to  rest 
satisfied  with  the  arrangement  by  which  his  recitations 
were  heard  on  the  Sabbath, — the  statesman's  only  day 
of  leisure.  As  his  serious  impressions  deepened  and 
issued  in  his  conversion,  he  was  led  to  abandon  the 
study  of  law  and  direct  his  attention  to  the  ministry-. 
Along  with  Duncan,  of  Baltimore,  and  (Br.)  John  M. 
Matthews,  he  studied  theology  under  Dr.  John  M. 
Mason,  and  labored  a  while  in  connection  with  the  Asso- 
ciate Eeformed  Church.  But  his  liberal  views  of  Chris- 
tian communion  were  obnoxious  to  that  bod}',^  and,  on 
an  appeal  from  the  Presbytery  to  the  Synod,  the  case 
was  decided  against  him.  In  consequence  of  this,  he 
renounced  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Presbytery  and  aban- 
doned the  connection.  Yet  such  was  his  popularity 
and  the  enthusiasm  he  inspired  that  the  young  men  of 
Lexinirton  resolved  to  build  him  a  church.    The  edifice 


1  For  a  fuller,  but  adverse,  statement,  see  Ely's  Review,  1818.  Mr. 
McChord  was  condemned  by  his  Presbytery  for  doctrinal  errors. 


KENTUCKY,    1816-1S30.  313 

■was  completed  in  1815,  find  a  large  congregation  was 
soon  gathered  around  the  young  and  talented  preacher 
He  united  with  the  Preshjtery  of  AVest  Lexington,  and 
his  church  was  i)laced  under  its  care.  His  extreme  sen- 
sitiveness injured  his  usefulness  and  shortened  his  days; 
but  for  several  years  he  occupied  a  prominent  position 
among  the  Presbyterian  ministers  of  the  State. 

Both  the  Xelsons  were  remarkable  men.  Samuel 
Kelsey  was  by  six  j'ears  the  senior  of  his  brother 
David.  He  was  born  in  1787,  and  at  the  early  age  of 
sixteen  was  graduated  at  Washington  College,  Tennes- 
see, under  Dr.  Doak.  He  commenced  the  study  of  law, 
but  had  not  long  pursued  it  before  his  purposes  of  life 
were  changed.  Eelinquishing  the  fair  j^rospect  of  fame 
and  success  which  opened  before  him,  and  in  disregard 
of  the  remonstrances  of  friends,  he  returned  to  Tennes- 
see and  prosecuted  the  study  of  theology  under  his  old 
])receptor,  Dr.  Doak.  He  was  licensed  in  1807  by  the 
Ilolston  Presbytery,  and  for  some  time  engaged  in  mis- 
sionary labors  in  South  Carolina  and  Tennessee.  Of 
benign  asj^ect,  easy  and  graceful  in  his  movements, 
with  a  shrewdness  in  discerning  character  that  seemed 
almost  intuitive,  and  a  strong  common  sense  that  was 
rarely  if  ever  at  fault,  he  was  more  the  man  of  counsel 
than  of  action.  Governor  Shelby's  estimate  of  the 
man  is  expressed  in  a  remark  which  he  uttered,  to  the 
eftect  that  Nelson  would  have  made  a  capital  lawj-er. 
In  the  pulpit,  every  sentence  was  level  to  the  compre- 
hen.sion  of  the  humblest  hearer.  If  not  dazzling,  he 
was  eminently  instructive,  searching,  and  edifying. 

In  1809  he  received  a  unanimous  call  to  the  pastoral 
charge  of  the  church  in  Danville,  and  for  nearly  twenty 
years  he  tilled  this  important  field  with  usefulness  and 
efficiency.  To  him  belongs  the  honor  of  having  been 
the  principal  founder  of  Centre  College.  For  this  he 
labored  with  consummate  skill  and  untiring  assiduity. 
Vol.  II.— 27 


314  HISTORY    or    TRESBYTERIANISM. 

It  was  tliroiigh  his  eflForts,  abl}^  seconded,  indeed,  by 
others,  that  tlie  Act  was  obtained  from  the  Legishiture 
by  whicli  the  institution  Avas  phiced  under  tlie  control 
of  a  Board  of  Trustees  appointed  by  the  Synod. 

Cut  down  in  the  midst  of  his  usefuhiess,  he  was  suc- 
ceeded in  the  pastorate  of  the  church  b}'  his  brother 
David.  For  several  years  the  future  author  of  "Cause 
and  Cure  of  Infidelity"  bad  been  himself  an  infidel. 
For  some  years  he  was  a  surgeon  in  the  arm}'.  lie 
served  in  the  expedition  to  Canada,  and  in  Alabama 
and  Florida.  Di^isatisfied  with  the  sophistry  of  infidel 
writers  and  their  di.shonesty  in  dealing  with  the  Bible, 
he  determined  to  read  fur  himself  on  both  sides  of  the 
question.  The  result  was  that  his  skepticism  gave 
way.  He  embraced  Christianity  not  only  as  of  divine 
authority,  but  as  the  only  foundation  of  his  personal 
hopes.  Eeligion  now  became  with  him  the  all-engross- 
ing subject.  In  spite  of  constitutional  diffidence,  he 
was  unremitting  in  his  exertions  to  do  good  to  the  souls 
of  men,  and  by  gradual  advances  at  last  became  com- 
petent to  conduct  the  devotions  of  luiblic  congregations. 

His  prospects  as  a  physician  were  all  that  he  could 
have  asked.  He  was  popular  as  a  man;  his  practice 
was  extensive  and  luci-ative,  not  falling  short  of  three 
thousand  dollars  a  year.  But  his  heart  glowed  with 
the  desire  to  preach  the  gospel,  and,  relinquishing  his 
profession,  he  placed  himself  under  the  care  of  Abing- 
don Presbytery. 

For  nearly  three  years  he  preached  in  various  places 
in  Tennessee,  and  at  the  same  time  was  associated  with 
Eoss  and  G-allaher  in  conducting  the  '■  Calvinistic  Maga- 
zine." In  1828  he  was  called  to  succeed  his  brother 
in  the  pastorate  of  the  church  at  Danville.  Here  he 
labored,  however,  but  two  3'ears.  His  subsequent  career 
is  identified  with  Marion  College  in  Missouri,  and  Quincy 
Institute  in  Illinois. 


KENTUCKY,    1816-1830.  315 

His  intimate  acquaintance  and  friend  Dr.  Ross  pro- 
nounced him  one  of  the  most  lovely  of  human  cha- 
racters, and  "  tlie  most  fascinating  preacher"  he  had 
ever  heard.  "His  simple  train  of  argument,  his  com- 
bination of  thought,  so  original,  his  exquisite  illustra- 
tions, inexhaustible,  his  strange  unearthly  voice,  his 
noble  face,  his  sweet  smile,  which  made  j^ou  feel  the 
light  and  love  of  heaven,  made  him  the  object  of  un- 
dying affection  in  every  heart  that  knew  him."  His 
eccentricities,  his  unique  absorbed  appearance,  liis  odd 
but  unaffected  manners,  his  coarse  attire,  always  care- 
less and  sometimes  untid}-,  could  not  detract  from  his 
real  power  and  merit.  Under  his  wool  hat  was  hidden 
a  brain  of  immense  power,  and  beneath  his  linsey- 
woolsey  garb  there  beat  a  heart  that  glowed  with  the 
most  fervent  love  and  devotion  to  God  and  the  warmest 
sympathy  with  all  that  was  human.  He  freed  his  own 
slaves,  and  was  undisguised  in  his  hostility  to  a  system 
which  in  his  judgment  was  an  offence  to  God  as  well  as  a 
gross  Avrong  to  his  creatures.  His  missionary  and  re- 
vival labors  were  abundant  and  remarkably  blessed.  At 
the  East  and  West,  in  the  wilds  of  Missouri  and  in  the 
Atlantic  cities,  among  the  sparse  settlements  of  Tennes- 
see, Kentucky,  Ohio,  and  Illinois,  and  in  the  homes  of 
civilization  and  refinement,  he  accomplished  great  re- 
sults; and  even  yet  ^'his  works  do  follow  him."  In  the 
midst  of  his  plans  of  usefulness  he  was  suddenly  struck 
doAvn.  Yet  tO  the  last  he  cherished  the  hope  that  God 
would  restore  him  to  the  work  he  loved  so  well. 

Dr.  John  T.  Edgar  was  a  native  of  DelaAvare,  but  in 
1793,  when  he  was  but  three  years  of  age,  his  father 
removed  to  Kentuck}'.  Tlie  latter,  although  but  a 
/■nimble  farmer,  gave  his  son  the  best  education  that 
could  be  afforded  in  his  adopted  State.  After  studying 
at  Transylvania  Universit}^,  he  entered  the  seminary  at 
Princeton,  where  he  was  graduated  in  1816.     In  the 


316  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

following  3'Gar  he  was  installed  by  Ebenezer  Presby- 
tery over  the  church  of  Flemingsburg,  from  which, 
after  acquiring  high  reputation  as  one  of  the  most 
promising  preachers  and  pastors  of  his  day,  he  was 
called  to  Maysville,  and  subsequently  (1827)  to  Frank- 
fort, where  his  eloquence  soon  gathered  around  him  the 
leading  men  of  the  capital  of  the  State.  "If  you  want 
to  hear  eloquence,"  said  Henry  Clay,  "  listen  to  the 
young  Presbyterian  preacher  at  Frankfort,  named  John 
Todd  Edgar."  In  his  manners  he  was  a  fine  specimen 
of  a  courtly  Christian  gentleman,  and  as  a  pastor  he 
was  social,  winning,  and  catholic.  The  poor  as  well  as 
the  wealthy  secured  his  sympathies  and  were  the  ob- 
jects of  the  same  absorbing  care. 

In  1833  he  was  called  to  Nashville,  Tenn. ;  and  here 
the  promise  of  his  earlier  years  was  fulfilled.  For 
more  than  twenty-seven  years  this  was  the  post  which 
he  continued  to  occupy,  and  where  he  exerted  a  com- 
manding influence.  In  person  he  was  a  fine  specimen 
of  manl}^  beauty.  His  address  and  bearing  were  simple, 
cordial,  and  refined.  Habitually  respectful  to  all,  sym- 
pathizing deeply  with  the  wretched  and  the  wronged, 
with  a  settled  aversion  to  all  that  was  mean,  cruel,  or 
base,  he  was  thoroughly  unselfish,  and  was  sustained 
by  a  personal  and  moral  courage  of  the  highest  order. 
For  his  oratorical  powers  he  w^as  deservedly  eminent. 
His  personal  appearance,  exquisite  voice  and  intonation, 
fervor  and  unction  of  spirit,  and  pathos  of  utterance 
placed  him  in  the  front  rank  of  pulpit-celebrity.  His 
death  occurred  Nov.  13,  1860. 

Nathan  H.  Hall  was  born  in  1783,  in  Franklin  county, 
Va.  When  he  was  sixteen  years  of  age,  his  father,  a 
Baptist  minister,  removed  to  Gari'ard  county,  Ky.  Con- 
verted in  the  revival  of  1801,  he  studied  theology  with 
Dr.  "Wilson  of  Cincinnati,  and  in  1805  was  licensed  by 
Transylvania  Presbytery.    In  1807  he  was  settled  over 


TENNESSEE,    1816-1830.  317 

Spring-field,  Hardin's  Creek,  and  Lebanon  Churches. 
In  1822  he  was  called  to  the  First  Presbyterian  Church 
of  Lexington.  In  1817  ho  resigned  his  charge  and 
became  an  Evangelist.  As  a  revival  preacher  he  was 
rarely  excelled.  In  1849  he  removed  to  Missouri,  and, 
after  preaching  some  time  for  the  Central  Church  of 
St.  Louis,  was  installed  pastor  of  Columbia  Church, 
where  he  remained  till  shortly  before  his  death.  He 
sunk  under  the  infirmities  of  age,  June  22,  1858. 

These  names  by  no  means  exhaust  the  list  of  the 
clerg}-  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Kentucky  during 
this  period,  worthy  of  honorable  mention.  Death  has 
removed  many  whose  memories  will  long  survive  in  the 
grateful  mention  and  anecdotes  of  their  usefulness,  de- 
votion, or  eloquence.  Chamberlain,  Hall,  Edgar,  Crowe, 
Bishop,  the  Breckinridges,  Harrison,^  Young,  .Davidson, 
and  Rice,  as  well  as  others  of  equal  merit,  were  laborers 
in  this  field  during  the  period  under  review,  and  some 
of  them  yet  survive,  attesting  the  efficiency  of  past  by 
the  success  of  present  labors. 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

TENNESSEE,    lSlC-18.30. 


As  we  enter  upon  the  period  of  the  history  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  in  Tennessee  from  1816  to  1830, 
we  find   the   three   Presbyteries  of  Abingdon,  Union, 


1  In  1820,  Joseph  Cabell  Harrison,  just  ordained  by  West  Lexing- 
ton Presbytery,  commenced  his  labors  as  a  missionary  under  their 
direction  in  the  Green  River  country.  He  subsequently  (1833) 
organized  the  churches  of  Burlington,  Richwood,  and  Mt.  Horeb, 
which  for  some  time  he  supplied,  and  afterward  was  successful  iii 
resuscitating  several  feeble  churches  in  Boone  county. 

27« 


318  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

and  West  Tennessee  occupying  the  field,  the  two  first 
connected  Avith  the  Synod  of  Virginia  and  the  last  with 
the  Synod  of  Kentucky.  Anderson,  in  charge  of  New 
Providence  Church  and  of  his  theological  school,  was 
laboring  at  Maryville.  Dr.  Coffin  occupied  the  post  of 
President  of  Greenville  College,  to  which  he  had  suc- 
ceeded on  the  death  of  Balch.  Stephenson,  at  Zion  and 
Cathie's  Creek,  Avas  impressing  his  own  grave  and  noble 
character  upon  the  region  which,  with  a  colony  from 
his  Carolina  church,  he  had  helped  to  settle.  Black- 
burn was  at  Franklin, — where  he  remained  till  his 
removal  to  Louisville  in  1828, — teaching,  preaching, 
organizing  and  supplying  ncAv  churches.  James  H. 
Bowman  was  laboring  at  Bethsaida  and  Mars'  Hill, 
Duncan  Brown  at  Bethesda  and  New  Hope,  Thomas 
J.  Hall  at  Bethberei  and  Eock  Spring,  David  Weir  at 
Columbia  and  Lower  Elk  Eidge,  Samuel  W.  Doak  at 
Mt.  Betlicl  and  Providence,  James  Gallaher  at  Rogers- 
ville  and  New  Providence,  Alexander  McEwen  at  Glade 
Springs  and  Rock  Springs;  while  the  venerable  Dr.  Doak 
still  retained  the  Presidency  of  Washington  College. 

But  already  the  necessity  of  a  new  connection  of  the 
Presbj^teries,  by  which  they  might  unitedly  operate 
upon  their  common  field  within  the  bounds  of  the  State, 
began  to  be  felt.  In  1817,  upon  the  petition  of  the 
Sj'nod  of  Kentucky,  that  body  was  divided,  and  the 
Presbyteries  of  Union,  Shiloh  (1816),  West  Tennessee, 
and  Mississippi  (1815)  were  constituted  the  Synod  of 
Tennessee. 

In  1818  the  Presb3-tery  of  Missouri  was  erected;  in 
1824  that  of  North  Alabama,  and  in  1826  that  of  Hol- 
ston,  erected  by  a  division  of  Abingdon,  were  added  to 
the  list,  all  coming  by  their  locality  in  connection  with 
the  Synod  of  Tennessee.  By  a  division  of  the  body, 
the  Synod  of  West  Tennessee  was  formed  in  1826. 

Thus  a  broad  and  extended  region  was  placed  under 


TENNESSEE,    1816-1830.  319 

the  care  of  the  Synod.  The  imperative  necessities  of 
this  field  Avere  deeply  felt,'  and  the  Missionary  Society 
of  Tennessee  ^vas  formed  to  co-operate  with  the  As- 
sembly's Board  of  Missions  In  successive  years  mis- 
sionaries were  scut  out  by  the  latter,  but  sustained  in 
part  by  the  former,  i)y  whom  in  many  cases  their  route 
was  prescribed.  In  1817,  William  McFarland  was  sent 
to  labor  in  Missouri,  and  Richard  King  in  the  Mississippi 
Territory.  In  the  following  year  James  C.  Barnes  was 
appointed  to  labor  in  the  southern  part  of  Kentucky 
and  the  adjacent  parts  of  Tennessee.  George  M.  Er- 
skine  (a  colored  preacher)  was  to  spend  four  months 
under  the  direction  of  the  Missionary  Society  of  East 
Tennessee.  In  1819  he  was  reappointed  in  like  manner, 
and  half  his  compensation  was  to  be  from  the  society. 
At  the  same  time,  Andrew  Morrison  was  to  labor  for 
three  months  in  the  region  lying  between  the  rivers 
Iliawassee  and  Tennessee;  while  Jeremiah  Chamber- 
lain was  sent  out  to  the  Missouri  field.  In  the  following 
year  he  was  followed  by  Francis  McFarland,  and  the 
commission  of  Erskine  to  act  under  the  direction  of 
the  Missionary  Society  of  Tennessee  was  renewed. 

Meanwhile,  in  this  new  field  opened  to  Christian  en- 
terprise, the  Connecticut  Society  sent  its  missionaries, 
few,  indeed,  but  cordially  co-operating  with  the  Assem- 
bly's Board  as  well  as  the  Tennessee  Society.  Earned, 
Cornelius,  and  Eoyce,  in  Mississippi,  acted  in  conjunc- 
tion with  the  two  denominations,  as  did  also  Giddinga 
and  Flint  in  Missouri.  Two  or  three  of  the  missionaries 
of  the  Connecticut  Society  were  appointed  to  visit  and 

'  The  project  for  a  Southwestern  Theological  Seminary  originated 
■within  the  bounds  of  the  Synod  of  Tennessee  in  1819.  Early  in  the 
following  year  a  circular  address  was  issued,  and  invitations  were 
sent  to  the  adjoining  Synods  to  appoint  delegates  to  meet  with  the 
Synod  of  Tennessee  at  its  session  at  Franklin  on  the  second  Wed- 
nesday of  October,  1820.  —  Christian  Herald,  vi.  6GG. 


320  HISTORY    OP   PEESBYTERIANISM. 

labor  within  the  States  of  Kentucky  and  Tennessee^ 
and  were  cordially  and  hospitably  entertained. 

One  of  these  was  Cyrus  Kingsbury,  afterward  a  mis- 
sionary to  the  Cherokees  under  the  direction  of  the 
American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions. 
In  1816  he  had  been  sent  out  by  the  Connecticut  Society 
to  visit  the  destitute  portions  of  Tennessee.  After 
spending  some  months  in  dischai'ging  his  commission, 
he  repaired  to  the  Cherokee  country.  At  a  full  council 
of  the  Cherokees  and  Creeks,  at  which  Colonel  Meigs, 
the  Indian  agent,  and  General  Andrew  Jackson,  in  be- 
half of  the  United  States  Government,  w^ere  present, 
he  proposed  to  the  Indians  his  plan  of  missions.  It 
was  favorably  entertained.  The  chiefs  invited  the  esta- 
blishment of  mission-schools,  and  Mr.  Kingsbury,  in  con- 
junction with  a  representative  of  the  tribes,  was  directed 
to  seek  out  a  fit  location.  The  result  was  the  selection 
of  the  mission-station  known  thenceforth  by  the  name 
of  the  devoted  missionary  "  Brainerd."  The  project 
which  Blackburn  had  so  zealously  prosecuted,  and  in 
which  Stephenson  and  other  ministers  of  Tennessee 
had  taken  such  deep  interest,  had  been  frustrated  by 
the  adverse  influences  of  the  war  (1812-15)  and  the 
removal  of  Blackburn  to  JSTashville.  It  was  now  revived 
under  better  auspices.  In  1817  the  hands  of  Kings- 
bury were  strengthened  by  a  reinforcement  of  laborers, 
— among  them  the  Eev.  Ard  Iloyt,  who  had  been  pastor 
for  some  years  of  the  Presbj^terian  church  in  Wilks- 
barre,  Pa.,  William  Chamberlain,  a  member  of  his  family, 
who  for  some  time  had  been  preparing  himself  for 
missionary  labor,  and  Daniel  S.  Butrick,  from  Massa- 
chusetts. 

In  the  following  year  the  mission  to  the  Choctaws 
was  commenced,  of  which  Mr.  Kingsbur}^  was  invited 
to  take  charge.  The  laborers  among  the  Cherokees 
were  increased  in  number  by  the  accession  of  the  lay* 


TENNESSEE,    1816-1S30.  321 

men  Abijah  Conger,  John  Vaill,  and  John  Talra.igc, 
with  their  families,  from  New  Jersey.  The  removal  of 
tlie  tribes  to  the  region  beyond  the  Mississippi,  though 
sorely  opposed  to  tlieir  own  desires,  had  already  eom- 
meneed;  and  in  the  latter  part  of  November,  1817,  Alfred 
Finney  and  Cephas  Washburn  set  out  on  their  journey, 
through  a  wilderness  rendered  almost  impassable  by 
fiooded  swamps  and  overflowing  creeks,  from  Brainerd 
to  Eliot  in  Arkansas. 

The  laborers  in  the  mission-field  at  Brainerd  were  for 
the  most  part  connected  with  the  Presbytery  of  Union, 
in  East  Tennessee.  Robert  Glenn  was  a  licentiate, 
Christopher  Bradshaw  a  candidate,  and  "  Father"  Hoyt 
a  member  of  it.  The  meetings  of  the  Presbytery  Avere 
to  them  "refreshing  seasons."  Especially  was  this  the 
case  at  the  present  juncture.  "The  Lord  had  recently 
poured  out  his  Spirit  in  many  parts  of  this  Presbytery, 
and  the  friends  of  Zion"  were  "  looking  up  with  rejoic- 
ing." The  Presbytery  had  six  young  men  under  its 
cai'e  as  candidates  for  the  ministry,  most  of  them, 
doubtless,  the  pupils  of  Anderson. 

The  missionaries  wei"e  visited  and  cheered,  among 
others,  by  members  of  the  Presbytery  and  missionaries 
sent  out  by  the  Assembly.  Saunders  and  Moderwell 
visited  them  on  their  tour.  Erastus  Root  from  Georgia, 
and  Vinal  and  Chapman,  sent  out  by  the  United  Foreign 
Mission  Society  at  New  York  on  an  exploring-tour 
among  the  Indians  west  of  the  Mississippi,  called  upon 
them.  Numerous  and  refreshing  were  these  repeated 
visits  from  members  or  ministers  of  Presbyterian 
churches  throughout  the  land.  But  a  special  interest 
Avas  taken  in  the  progress  of  the  mission  by  the  churches 
of  Tennessee.  In  1819,  Isaac  Anderson,  Matthew  Donald, 
and  William  Eagleton  (of  Kingston)  w^ere  the  visiting 
committee  of  the  Presbytery,  and  signed  the  report  of 
the  examination  of  the  mission-schools. 


322  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

From  year  to  yeai*  the  reports  were  generall}''  favor- 
able. In  1822  the  large  establishment  at  Brainerd  was 
divided,  and  its  members  distributed  abroad  throughout 
the  bounds  of  the  tribe.  In  the  following  year  nearly 
one  hundred  person©  gave  evidence  of  hopeful  conver- 
sion, and  at  Willstown  a  church  "on  the  Presbyterian 
model,"  consisting  of  nine  converted  Cherokecs,  was 
organized  (October  10),  and  connected  with  Union  Pres- 
byter}'. Already  in  September  of  the  same  year  the 
churches  at  Brainerd,  Carmel,  and  Hightower  had  been 
received  :  so  that  on  the  list  of  the  Presbytery  were  four 
churches  within  the  limits  of  the  Cherokee  mission. 
The  number  was  increased  by  tlie  organization  of  an- 
other church  at  Candy's  Creek  in  the  following  3'ear. 

But  already  the  plan  was  formed  which  was  to  result 
in  disaster  to  the  mission  by  the  removal  of  the  Chero- 
kees  bej'ond  the  Mississippi.  Georgia  took  the  lead  in 
the  harsh  and  cruel  measures  by  which  this  plan  was 
carried  out.  The  missionaries  were  indignant  and  dis- 
heartened at  the  perfidy  which  viol  ated  repeated  and  most 
solemn  treaties.  They  saw  their  own  labors  interrupted ; 
they  saw  those  whom  they  had  been  encouraged  to  hope 
would  soon  be  brought  to  embrace  the  gospel,  outraged 
and  alienated  by  an  injustice  which  found  no  excuse 
but  in  the  sophistry  of  unscrupulous  avarice,  while  the 
prospects  of  future  success  for  the  mission  were  be- 
coming more  dark  and  gloomy  continually. 

Still,  the}^  did  not  remit  their  efforts.  Amid  sa<l  dis- 
couragements they  laboi'cd  on.  Portions  of  the  tribe 
were  from  time  to  time  despairingly  forsaking  their  old 
liunt  ing-grounds  and  their  fathers'  graves  for  new  homes 
in  the  distant  wilderness.  Yet,  till  actual  violence  was 
offered,  and  by  the  arrest  of  their  persons  the  resolute 
purpose  to  effect  a  forcible  removal  of  the  Cherokecs 
became  too  obvious  to  be  longer  questioned,  they  re- 
mained faithful  to  their  Avork.     But  from  1829  to  1835 


TENNESSEE,    1S16-1830.  323 

the  odious  project  was  pushed  forward  to  its  disastrous 
results.  Yet  for  nearly  twenty  yeai'S  the  Cherokee 
mission,  largely  sustained  by  the  sympathy  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  in  Tennessee,  presented  a  noble  exam- 
ple of  self-denying  Christian  effort, — the  more  striking 
when  contrasted  with  the  greed  and  injustice  of  men 
who  viewed  the  native  tribes  only  in  the  liglit  of  their 
own  mercenary  projects. 

It  was  doubtless  through  the  interest  excited  by  the 
missions  to  the  Ci-eeks  aud  Cherokees  that  the  atten- 
tion of  the  United  Foreign  Missionary  Society  was 
directed  to  the  Indian  tribes  west  of  the  Mississippi. 
In  1821,  the  enterprise  of  sending  out  missionaries  to 
the  Osage  Indians,  five  hundred  miles  west  of  the 
'•  Father  of  Waters,"  was  undertaken.  A  very  general 
sympath}'  throughout  the  Church  was  awakened  in  its 
behalf  A  mission  family,  collected  from  nine  different 
States,  and  consisting  of  twenty-five  grown  persons,  male 
and  female,  ar.d  sixteen  children,  w^ere  set  apart  hy  the 
society  in  New  York  to  spend  their  days  in  this  remote 
field.  The  occasion  was  one  of  extraordinary  interest. 
The  exercises  took  place  in  Dr.  Mason's  church,  and 
the  farewell  meeting  was  held  at  the  Middle  Dutch 
Church, — throngs  crowding  to  the  scene,  but  unable  to 
gain  admittance.  Thousands  of  people,  as  the  boat 
left  the  wharf,  were  present  to  witness  their  departure. 
At  Elizabethtown,  New  Bi-unswick,  and  other  placed 
on  their  route,  they  were  received  with  cordial  greet- 
ings and  assisted  on  their  way.  The  cause  of  missions 
received  a  new  impulse,  and  an  enthusiasm  in  its  behalf 
was  kindled  throughout  the  Church  by  their  mitiatiou 
of  an  enterprise  hitherto  unprecedented  in  magnitude, 
at  least  in  this  country. 

The  canse  of  education  in  Tennessee  made  some  pro- 
gress during  this  period.  The  Southwestern  Theo- 
logical Seminary  at  Maryville,  established  in  1821,  ut 


324  iiisTORy  OF  presbyterianism. 

the  cost  of  no  small  effort  and  self-denial,  will  again 
claim  our  notice.  The  history  of  its  origin  and  pro- 
gress is  the  hest  and  highest  eulogy  of  those  by  whose 
efforts  it  was  established.  The  University  of  Xash- 
ville,  founded  as  Cumberland  College  in  1806,  secured 
in  1824  the  services  of  Dr.  Philip  Lindsley,  Vice-Pre- 
sident of  New  Jersey  College,  as  President  of  the  in- 
stitution.^ Admirably  was  he  fitted  for  the  post,  and 
great  was  the  necessity  for  such  a  man  in  the  field  ho 
was  called  to  occupy.  A  great  State  was  just  emerging 
from  the  wilderness  and  calling  for  the  equipments  of  a 
Christian  civilization.  School-houses  and  churches  were 
to  be  built,  works  of  internal  improvement  were  to  be 
constructed;  the  literary,  moral. and  religious  character 
of  hundreds  of  communities  was  plastic  now,  but  was 
taking  shape  for  coming  generations.  The  acquisition 
of  such  a  man  as  Dr.  Lindsley  in  such  circumstances 
might  well  be  hailed  with  satisfaction  and  gratulatiou 
by  the  Presbyterian  Church.  lie  was  Princeton's  favor- 
ite son, — a  pupil  of  Samuel  Stanhope  Smith,  an  inti- 
mate friend  of  Drs.  Alexander  and  Miller,  and  he  was 
liimself,  Avithal,  a  master-workman.  The  Church  in 
Tennessee  was  strengthened  and  cheered  by  his  pre- 
sence, sj-mpathy,  and  co-oi)eration,  not  only  in  the 
cause  of  learning,  but  of  every  '"good  word  and  work." 
In  1830,  the  Presbytery  of  Union  numbered  twent}'- 


1  The  University  of  Nashville,  known  till  ]8'2G  as  Cumberland 
College,  was  incorporated  in  180C).  It  was  opened  foi-  the  reeejition 
of  students  in  the  autumn  of  1800.  The  Faculty  were  James 
Priestly,  President,  William  Hume,  Professor  of  Languages,  and 
George  Martin,  teaclier  of  the  grammar-school.  In  October,  1810, 
its  doors  were  closed  for  sheer  want  of  funds.  In  1824  the  opera- 
tions of  the  institution  were  recommenced  under  Dr.  Lindsley,  who 
had  been  induced  to  accept  the  Presidency  of  the  institution.  From 
182G  to  1839  the  graduates  numbered  two  hundred. — Am.  Quar.  Reg., 
Feb.  1840. 


TENNESSEE,    1816-1S30.  325 

five  ministers  and  tweiit3'-nine  churches,  and  that  of 
Iloliston  (^erected  IVoiu  Abingdon  in  1^20)  about  thirteen 
ministers  and  fourteen  churches,  forming  an  aggregate 
of  tliirty-eight  ministers  and  forty-three  churches  in 
Eastern  Tennessee.  In  twelve  years  the  increase  upon 
the  field  had  been,  of  ministers  more  than  fourfold,  and 
of  churches  nearly  threefold.  The  Second  Presby- 
tei'ian  Church  was  formed  at  Knoxville  about  the  year 
1819;. and  seventeen  new  churches  were  reported  as 
under  the  care  of  the  Presbytery  during  the  period 
from  1819  to  1825.^ 

The  Presbj'tery  of  French  Broad  (erected  from  Union 
in  1825)  numbered  in  1830  eight  ministers  and  ten 
churches,  and  that  of  West  Tennessee,  erected  in  1810 
with  four  ministers,  had  increased  so  as  to  be  formed 
(1820)  into  a  Synod  consisting  of  the  Presbyteries  of 
"West  Tennessee,  Shiloh,  and  North  Alabama;  w^hile 
one  of  its  earlier  offshoots,  the  Presbytery  of  Missis- 
sii>pi  (1815),  had  grown  to  the  dimensions  of  a  Synod. 
The  Presbytery  of  West  Tennessee  numbered  fifteen 
ministers  and  eighteen  churches,  and  that  of  Shiloh 
(erected  1816)  ten  ministers  and  twentj-five  churches. 
Tims  the  aggregate  of  the  five  Presb3^teries,  Union, 
Ilolston,  French  Broad,  West  Tennessee,  and  Shiloh, — 
representing  the  strejigth  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
within  the  bounds  of  the  State, — was  ninety-six  chui'ches 
and  seventy-one  ministers,  including,  however,  in  this 
number,  fourteen  licentiates  under  the  care  of  the  Pres- 
byteries. 

In  the  field  occupied  by  the  West  Tennessee  Presby- 
tery were  to  be  fouiid  some  of  the  most  efficient  and 

1  The  cliurcli  at  Kingsport  was  formed  about  the  year  1820,  and 
■was  subsequently  for  nearly  thirty  years  under  the  pastoral  care  of 
Dr.  F.  A.  Ross.  The  Report  of  1831  is  the  one  which  properly  re- 
presents the  churches  of  the  preceding  year,  and  this  is  the  one  re- 
ferred to  above. 

y,.T,   TT.— !^8 


326  HISTORY    OP    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

laborious  ministers  within  the  bounds  of  the  Church. 
The  venerable  Dr.  Stephenson,  wlio  had  removed  to 
Maurj  county  in  1808,  was  still,  after  more  than  twenty 
years  of  service  in  this  field,  in  charge  of  Zion  congre- 
gation. Gideon  Blackburn,  who  had  left  Maryville  in 
1810  and  who  for  a  few  months  labored  in  Maury 
county,  removed  in  the  following  year  to  Franklin,  the 
capital  of  Williamson  county,  eighteen  miles  south  of 
JSTashville,  taking  charge  of  Harpeth  Academy,  and 
preaching  in  rotation  at  five  different  places  within  a 
range  of  fifty  miles.  At  each  of  these,  within  a  short 
period,  he  organized  churches;  and  at  his  fii*st  com- 
munion-season three  thousand  persons  were  present 
and  forty-five  members  were  received  to  the  Church. 
In  1823  ho  removed  to  Louisville,  to  take  the  pastoral 
chai'ge  of  the  church  in  that  place. ^  His  successor  at 
Franklin  was  his  son  John  X.  Blackburn. 

The  successors  of  Dr.  Blackburn  at  Xashviile  were 
Allan  D.  Campbell  and  Obadiah  Jennings.  The  pas- 
torate of  the  latter  commenced  here  in  April,  1828. 
His  father,  Jacob  Jennings,  was  an  early  member  of 
'■  Old  Redstone"  Pi*esbytery,  and  the  son  Avas  educated 
for  the  legal  profession.  After  practising  at  the  bar 
for  several  years  at  Steubenville,  Ohio,  his  attention 
was  drawn  to  the  claims  of  religion,  and  in  ISll  he 
united  with  the  Church.  Five  years  later,  during  a 
severe  attack  of  disease,  he  was  led  to  form  the  pur- 
pose of  devoting  himself  to  the  work  of  the  ministry. 
For  six  3'ears  he  had  charge  of  the  church  of  Steuben- 
ville, and  for  five  years  of  the  church  in  Washington, 
Pa.  Of  earnest  but  unostentatious  piety,  a  humble 
spirit,  quick  perception,  and  great  eminence  as  a  de- 
bater, Dr.  Jennings  commanded  respect  and  confidence, 
and  exerted  a  powerful  influence  in  his  new  sphere  of 

'  Sprague,  iv.  4G. 


TENNESSEE,    lSlG-1830.  327 

effort,  where  in  a  celebrated  debate  with  Alexander 
Campbell  he  distinguished  himself  by  his  argumenta- 
tive skill  and  irresistible  logic. ^  His  pastorate  closed 
Avith  his  life  in  18o2. 

Dr.  Jennings's  immediate  predecessor  at  Nashville, 
Dr.  A.  D.  Campbell,  Avas  a  native  of  Lancashire,  England 
(1791),  but  at  an  early  age  removed  with  his  father's 
family  to  this  country.  He  was  educated  in  connection 
with  the  Associate  "Reformed  Church,  in  which  his  father 
was  an  elder.  A  graduate  of  the  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania and  a  theological  pupil  of  Dr.  John  M.  Mason, 
ho  was  licensed  by  the  Philadelj^hia  Presbytery-  in  con- 
nection Avith  the  Associate  Eeforraed  Church,  and  sent 
to  preach  in  the  vacant  churches  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Pittsburg.  In  1818  he  was  settled  over  the  congre- 
gations of  MeadA'ille  and  Sugar  Creek,  and  soon  after 
united  with  the  Presbytery  of  Eedstone.  From  1820 
to  1827,  XashA'ille  Avas  his  field  of  labor;  but  soon  after 
this  he  became  connected  Avith  the  Allegheny  Theo- 
logical Seminary,  in  Avhich  he  remained  a  professor  till 
1840.  His  mind  Avas  quick  and  active,  and  in  extempo- 
raneous debate  he  Avas  often  eloquent  and  irresistible. 
Largely  perceptive  and  keenly  sensitiA'e,  he  Avas 
prompt  to  discern  the  traces  of  error  in  doctrine  or 
morals.  Outspoken  and  impulsiA^e,  he  sometimes  gaA'e 
olfence.  and  by  some  Avas  regarded — especially  in  the 
crisis  of  1837 — as  largely  responsible  for  the  division 
of  the  Church.  Yet  he  Avas  genei'ous,  tender,  and  hu- 
jimne.  faithful  as  a  minister,  and  in  "  pastoral  apti- 
tudes" rarely  surpassed.  Whatever  estimate  may  bo 
formed  of  the  practical  Avisdom  of  his  course  in  some 
of  the  emergencies  of  the  Church,  his  read}'  self-denial, 
overflowing  liberality,  and  promptitude  in  meeting  the 

'  Sprague,  iv.  554. 


328  HISTORY    OF    PUESBYTERIANISM. 

demands  of  duty  entitle  him   to  the  highest  respect 
His  death  occurred  Sept.  20,  1861. 

The  First  Church  of  Memphis  was  established  through 
the  instrumentality  of  Samuel  M.cCuUoch  Wdliamson. 
lie  was  a  native  of  North  Carolina,  and  graduated  at 
Yale  College  in  1823;  he  removed  in  1826  to  Tennessee 
with  a  view  to  enter  upon  the  practice  of  the  legal  j>ro- 
fession  In  listening  to  a  sermon  by  John  W.  Hall,  of 
Murfreesborough,  and  through  the  perusal  of  Dod- 
dridge's "Kise  and  Progress,"  his  attention  was  drawn 
to  his  religious  duty,  and  he  was  led  to  devote  himself 
to  the  service  of  Christ.  Sacrificing  his  worldly  pros- 
pects, he  placed  himself  tinder  the  tuition  of  Dr.  Black- 
burn, and  in  1829  was  licensed  to  j'l'^'^'-'h  by  Shiloh 
Presbytery. 

After  travelling  as  a  missionary  in  ^Yestern  Tennes- 
see, and  laboring  for  a  brief  period  among  the  Chicka- 
saw and  Choctaw  Indians,  he  settled  in  the  fall  of  1830 
at  Memphis,  where  he  soon  succeeded  in  gathering  a 
prosperous  congregation.  When  he  commenced  his 
labors,  there  Avere  but  few  dwellings,  and  not  a  single 
church-edifice,  in  the  town  ;  nor  was  the  state  of  public 
morals  such  as  to  promise  support  or  sj-mpathy  for  the 
pastor  who  should  be  faithful  in  the  discharge  of  his 
duty.  But,  with  a  constancy  that  never  wavered  and 
a  firmness  that  never  faltered,  he  addressed  himself  to 
his  work.  The  consequence  was  that  vice  and  impiety 
quailed  before  him.  and  his  labors  were  soon  crowned 
with  the  divine  blessing. 

In  connection  with  his  charge  at  Memphis,  which  he 
retained  for  three  years,  he  preached  at  two  other  sta- 
tions,— one  ten,  and  the  other  tAventy-four,  miles  distant. 
It  was  not  unconunon  for  him  to  preach  five  times  a 
week;  and  in  order  to  meet  his  appointments  he  was 
often  obliged  to  make  his  horse  swim  the  swollen 
streams    which    abounded    in    that    region    at    certain 


TENNESSEE,    1S1G-18;50.  329 

ecasona  of  the  year.  His  labors  as  an  evangelist  were 
particularl}^  successful,  and  his  career  fur-nishes  a  paral- 
lel to  thai  of  the  earl}-  ministers  of  Eastern  Tennessee. 
On  removing  from  Memphis  he  labored  first  with  the 
Mountain  and  Covington  congregations,  and  subse- 
quently at  Lagrange  and  Bethany,  until  his  death  in 
1846. 

Unsparing  in  his  devotion  to  the  great  work  of  his 
life,  he  aocomplished  much  during  his  short  ministry. 
Ardent,  unselfish,  and  steadfast,  he  sought  the  good  of 
others  while  neglectful  perhaps  of  his  own.  Brilliant 
in  the  social  circle,  he  Avas  pre-eminent  in  the  pulpit. 
Although  not  a  learned  theologian  nor  even  a  profound 
thinker,  3-et  for  activity  and  energy  of  mind,  clearness 
of  thought,  impressiveness  and  earnestness  of  manner, 
and  fervid  unaffected  eloquence,  he  had  not  his  superior, 
either  in  the  pulpit  or  at  the  bar,  in  the  whole  Western 
District.^ 

The  early  ministry  of  Dr.  Frederick  A.  Ross  was  in 
connection  with  the  church  of  Kingsport,  under  the 
care  of  the  Presbj-tery  of  Ilolston.  A  native  of  Eastern 
Virginia,  he  was  upon  the  death  of  his  father  required 
to  attend  to  the  settlement  of  his  estate,  a  portion  of 
(vhich  lay  in  Hawkins  county.  East  Tennessee.  Here 
tie  came  under  the  influence  of  James  Gallaher,  one  of 
whose  sei'mons  he  regarded  as  the  means  of  his  con- 
version. From  this  time  he  resolved  to  devote  himself 
to  the  ministry.  Licensed  in  1825,  his  labors  as  a  pas- 
tor and  evangelist  were  thenceforth  abundant  and 
largely  blessed,  and  for  several  j^ears  his  name  is  asso- 
ciated in  revival  eflForts  with  that  of  his  former  pastor. 

This  man — James  Gallaher — was,  during  the  period 
under  review,  one  of  the  most  efficient  and  po^iular 
preachers  within  the  bounds  of  the  State.     He  was  of 

^  Spragne,  iv.  76G.  '  - 

28* 


330  HISTORY  or  presbyterianism. 

Scotch-Irish  descent,  and  was  born  in  Washington 
county,  Tenn.,  in  1792.  Upon  his  father's  removal  to 
Blount  county,  the  family  were  exposed  to  constant 
annoyance  and  danger  from  the  Creek  and  especially 
the  Cherokee  Indians.  The  home  of  his  boyhood  was 
a  I'ude  block-house,  and  his  early  years,  when  not  posted 
as  a  sentinel  to  give  the  alarm  against  hostile  attack, 
were  devoted  to  labor  on  the  farm.  His  advantages 
for  education  were  limited,  and  the  Bible  may  be  said 
to  have  been  almost  his  only  text-book.  With  this  he 
was  remarkably  familiar,  and  his  scriptural  knowledge 
proved  his  best  preparation  for  the  work  of  the  min- 
istry. 

In  1811  he  entered  Washington  College,  then  under 
the  Presidency  of  Dr.  Doak.  But,  though  hopefully 
pious,  he  had  not  yet  fully  determined  to  devote  him- 
self to  the  work  of  the  ministry.  Graduated  in  the  fall 
of  1813,  he  opened  in  the  spring  of  the  following  year 
a  high-school  in  Knoxville,  which  he  continued  for 
several  months.  While  thus  engaged,  he  formed  an 
intimate  acquaintance  with  members  of  the  bar,  and 
through  their  influence  was  for  a  while  disposed  to  de- 
vote his  attention  to  the  study  of  the  law.  Upon  more 
deliberate  reflection,  however,  and  in  accordance  with 
the  expressed  wishes  of  his  pious  father,  he  abandoned 
the  project,  and  formed  the  definite  I'esolve — which  he 
never  regretted — to  preach  the  gospel. 

His  theological  studies  were  prosecuted  under  the 
direction  of  Rev.  Edward  Crawford,  and  subsequently 
of  Dr.  Stephen  Bovelle.  Upon  their  completion  he  was 
licensed  by  the  Presbytery  of  Abingdon,  in  December, 
1815.  Almost  immediately  he  was  invited  by  the  church 
of  New  Providence  and  by  the  people  of  Eogersville  to 
become  their  pastor. 

The  church-accommodations  at  New  Providence  were 
merely  a  small  brick  school-house  that  would  seat  about 


TENNESSEE,   1S16-1S30.  331 

one  hundred  and  fifty  persons.'  In  a  short  time,  under 
his  hibors,  tlie  congregation  increased  until  it  numbered 
four  hundred  church-members,  and  sometimes  a  thou- 
sand hearers. 

"Lazy  in  every  thing  but  thought  and  utterance," 
careless  in  dress,  sometimes  with  neither  hat  nor  coat 
that  seemed  made  for  him,  of  tall,  sj^are  frame,  and 
Avith  a  forehead  unusually  low,  one  needed  only  to  look 
into  his  splendid  ej'es,  or  listen  to  a  voice  whose  cveiy 
tone  was  the  richest  music,  to  feel  that  before  him  stood 
no  ordinar}^  man.  His  opportunities  had  not  been  the 
best,  and  they  had  not  been  very  studiously  improved. 
His  scholarly  attainments  were,  indeed,  quite  meagre. 
He  w^as  a  stranger  to  the  "  nice  points"  of  theology, 
and  not  much  at  homo  in  theological  discussion;  but 
his  imagination  was  fervid,  his  orator^^  wellnigh  per- 
fect, and  his  piety  ardent  and  sincere.  In  manner, 
from  good  sense  and  native  tact,  he  was  free  and  easy, 
a  genial  companion  and  a  warm  friend.  Taking  in  his 
sermons  the  broadest,  plainest,  most  common-sense 
views  of  the  Bible,  he  carried  the  convictions  of  his 
hearers  with  him,  and,  whether  pathetic,  violent,  voci- 
ferous, earnest,  or  pointed,  he  uniformly  secured  their 
sympathy.  Life,  vivacity,  excitement,  seemed  to  over- 
flow in  his  nature.  In  a  word,  he  was  the  man  for  the 
sphere  in  which  Providence  had  cast  his  lot.  Wherever 
he  went,  he  was  sure  to  attract  crowds  around  him,  and 
to  communicate  to  them  the  moods  of  his  own  mind; 
while  his  glowing  zeal  and  ardent  piety  left  no  doubt- 
ful or  transient  impression.  For  fourteen  years  his 
field  of  labor  Avas  mainly  among  the  churches  over 
Avhich  he  was  first  settled,  and  in  the  missionary  field 
around  him.  In  1830,  he  removed  to  Cincinnati,  to  take 
charo-e  of  the  Third  Church.     We  meet  him  also  in 


1  Sprague,  iv.  633. 


332  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

Other  fields;  for  his  hxbors  extended  to  Kentucky,  Ohio, 
and  Missouri. 

The  Presbyterian  ministers  of  Tennessee  were,  in 
1830 — in  Union  Presbytery,  Dr.  Anderson,  in  charge  of 
New  Providence  and  the  Second  Church  of  Knoxville, 
Thomas  H.  Nelson,  stated  supply  of  the  First  Church, 
D.  S.  Butrick  and  S.  A.  Worcester,  missionaries  to  the 
Cherokees,  Elijah  M.  Eagleton,  stated  supply  of  Wash- 
ington and  Lebanon  in  the  Fork,  William  A.  McCamp- 
bell,  stated  supply  of  Grassy  Valley,  Fielding  Pope, 
stated  supply  of  Mars'  Hill,  Columbiana,  and  Shiloh, 
Thomas  Brown,  stated  supply  of  Bethel  and  Mt.  Zion, 
Darius  Hoyt,  stated  supply  of  Eusebia  and  Pleasant 
Grove,  Andrew  Vance,  stated  supply  of  Baker's  Creek, 
while  Alexander  McGhee,  Abel  Pearson,  Sumner  Mande- 
ville,  Michael  A.  Eemley,  A.  G.  McNutt,  A.  M.  Keith, 
and  Gideon  S.  White  were  without  charge,  and  from 
twelve  to  fifteen  churches  Avcre  vacant;  in  the  Pres- 
bytery of  French  Broad,  President  Coffin,  John  Mc- 
Campbell.  at  Strawberry  Plains,  Hopewell,  and  New 
Market,  William  Minnis,  at  Westminster,  St.  Paul's,  and 
New  Salem,  Francis  A.  McCorkle,at  Mt.  Zion,Harmon3^, 
and  Timber  Ridge,  Nathaniel  Hood,  stated  supply  at  Pis- 
gah  and  Tazewell,  and  Stephen  Foster,  without  charge; 
in  Ilolston  Presbytery,  Dr.  Doak,  James  Gallaher,  F.  A. 
Ross,  S  W.  Doak,  pastor  at  Mt.  Bethel  and  Providence, 
L.  G.  Bell,  pastor  of  Hebron  and  supply  of  New  Bethel, 
A.  S.  Morrison,  stated  supply  of  Blountville  and  Paper- 
ville,  and  Robert  Glenn  and  William  Quillin,  without 
charge,  while  five  churches  were  vacant;  in  West  Ten- 
nessee Presbytery,  Dr.  Stephenson,  stated  supply  at 
Zion,  Dr.  Henderson,  at  Franklin,  Dr.  D.  Brown,  at  Eben- 
ezer  and  Salem,  Thomas  J.  Hall,  at  Bethberei,  Dr. 
Robert  Hardin,  at  Columbia  and  Bethesda,  Dr.  Jennings, 
pastor  at  Nashville,  William  Hume,  at  Harpeth  and  Com- 
munion, Hugh  Shaw,  stated  supply  at  Cathie's  Creek, 


I 


TENNESSEE,   1816-1830.  333 

James  Hall  Brooks,  at  Pulaski  and  Bethany,  Samuel  TV. 
Calvert,  at  Elk  Ridge  and  Mars'  Hill,  while  President 
Lindsley,  S.  C.  McConnell,  Edmund  Lanier,  Lewis  Mc- 
Leod,  and  James  li.  Shields  were  without  charge,  and 
three  or  four  churches  were  vacant;  in  Sliiloh  Pres- 
bj'teiy,  George  Newton,  stated  sup])ly  at  Shelbyville, 
Beth-Salem,  and  New  Providence,  Jesse  Alexander,  at. 
Stone's  River,  Hopewell,  Cripple  Creek,  and  Mt.  Vernon, 
James  Macklin.  at  Fayetteville  and  Unity,  William  P^a- 
gleton,  at  Murfreesborough,  John  W.  Hall,  pastor  of 
Gallatin  and  Shiloh,  Ebenezer  McEwen,  stated  supply 
of  Eldad,  Salem,  and  Jehoshaphat,  Amzi  Bradshaw,  of 
Smyrna  and  Spring  Creek.  John  L.  Sloane,  of  Peyton's 
Creek,  while  seven  churches  were  vacant.' 

The  progress  of  the  Church  in  Tennessee  for  the  first 
thirty  years  of  the  century  had  been  healthful  and 
steady,  although  far  less  rapid  than  in  some  other  por- 
tions of  the  country.  The  five  or  six  ministers  of  1800 
had  been  multiplied  nearly  tenfold.  The  churches,  if 
not  projiortionally  increased  in  numbers,  had  advanced 
in  strength,  and  not  a  little  had  been  accomplished  in, 
the  cause  of  literaiy  and  theological  education.  We 
shall  be  led  hereafter  to  note  the  urgent  demand  w^hich 
■was  still  made  for  more  laborers. 


1  It  is  a  notewortliy  fnct  that  in  1830  the  Presb\-teries  of  Union 
and  Shiloh  had  each  but  one  settled  pastor,  West  Tennessee  had  two 
pastors,  and  Hoist  on  and  French  Broad  had  three  each,  making  in 
the  five  Presbyteries  and  within  the  bounds  of  the  State  only  ten 
settled  pastors. 


334  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 


CHAPTER   XXXAa. 

THE     CHURCH     AT     LARGE — GENERAL     SURVEY,     MISSIONS, 
THEOLOGICAL    EDUCATION,    AND    REVIVALS — 1S25-1830. 

In  the  jicriod  wbich  elapsed  from  1825  to  1835,  the 
numbers  and  strength  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
throughout  the  country  advanced  more  than  fifty  per 
cent.  The  Synods  increased  from  fourteen  to  twenty- 
three,  and  the  Presbyteries  from  eighty-one  to  about 
one  hundred  and  twenty-five.  At  the  commencement 
of  this  period  the  number  of  ministers  connected  witli 
them  was  ten  hundred  and  eighty;  at  its  close  they 
amounted  to  about  two  thousand.  The  churches  had 
increased  from  seventeen  hundred  and  seventy-two  to 
nearly  two  thousand  eight  hundred;  while  the  member- 
ship had  more  than  doubled,  amounting  in  1835  to  a 
little  more  than  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand. 

A  portion  of  the  period — to  which  our  attention  is 
more  especially  called  in  this  chaptei' — was  character- 
ized by  powerful  and  extensive  revivals.  They  were 
limited  to  no  section,  but  were  especially  prevalent  in 
Western  New  York,  Ohio,  and  South  Carolina.  An 
extraordinary  energy  seemed  to  pervade  the  Church. 
Union  measures  for  evangelical  effort  were  adopted 
with  great  readiness,  and  even  fervor.  Plans  were  en- 
tertained for  establisbing  Sunday-schools  extensively 
throughout  the  Mississippi  Yalley,  for  placing  a  Bible 
in  each  family  throughout  the  land,  for  disseminating 
tracts  and  religious  books  in  connection  Avith  the  Ame- 
rican Tract  Society  then  recently  established  at  New 
York,  and  for  the  general  causes  of  ministerial  educa- 


GENERAL    SURVEY,    1S25-1830.  335 

tion  and  home  missionary  enterprise.  Tlie  report  of 
the  Postmaster-General  (18-9)  in  favor  of  Sunday  mails 
aroused  a  strong  ieeling  of  indignation,  and  excited  tlio 
churches  to  measures  for  vindicating  the  Lord's  day 
from  ])rofanation.  Many  of  the  churches  and  Presby- 
teries co-operated  effectively  with  the  '•  Sabbath  Union." 
The  cause  of  temperance,  in  connection  with  the  labors 
of  Drs.  Beocher  and  Hewitt,  was  successfully  promoted. 
The  monthly  concert  came  to  be  moi'e  generally  and 
extensively  observed ;  and  by  the  General  Assembly  of 
1830  its  claims  were  recommended  to  the  attention  not 
only  of  its  own  churches,  but  of  the  various  religious 
denominations  throughout  the  land. 

Throughout  the  bounds  of  the  Church  a  new  religious 
life  seemed  to  be  powerfully  at  work.  In  the  midst  of 
great  destitutions,  there  was  a  missionary  zeal  awakened 
which  aimed  zealously  at  some  effectual  means  for  their 
supply.  Independent  of  the  Assembly's  Board  of  Mis- 
sions, there  were  several  local  societies  which  had  o-one 
into  operation.  The  First  Presb3-terian  Church  of  Phila- 
delphia had  its  3Iissionary  Association.  The  Western 
Missionary  Society  of  Utica  was  organized  in  1826,  and 
within  the  first  year  of  its  existence  sent  into  the  held 
thirty"  ministers.' whose  labors  extended  to  fifty  towns 
and  villages,  in  eight  of  which  no  church  had  yet  been 
organized.  The  Monroe  County  Missionary'  Society  was 
organized  at  about  the  same  time,  aiid  both  were  auxi- 
liary to  the  American  Home  Missionary  Society,  which 
was  established  the  same  year. 

In  its  organization  this  society  absorbed  in  itself  the 
Young  Men's  Missionary  Society  of  New  York,  which 
had  sent  missionaries  to  Illinois  and  Missouri  as  well 
as  Western  New  York,  and  also  the  United  Domestic 
Missionary  Society,  whose  responsibilities  it  assumed, 
thus  receiving  upon  its  list  from  this  source  alone  more 


336  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

than   three-fourths   of  the   missionaries   whom  it   em- 
ployed.i 

Tiiis  society  had  been  formed  after  long  and  extended 
correspondence  with  prominent  members  of  the  different 
co-operative  denominations  in  1826.  At  the  time  of  the 
May  anniversaries  of  that  year,  a  convention,  embracing 
friends  of  missions  from  every  part  of  the  countr}',  met 
in  tlie  city  of  New  York  and  resolved  upon  its  forma- 
tion. If  the  United  Domestic  Missionary  Society  should 
see  fit  to  adopt  the  constitution  framed  by  the  conven- 
tion, it  was  resolved  that  it  should  become  the  American 
Home  Missionary  Society.  The  recommendation  was 
adopted,  and  on  the  list  of  the  oflicei'S  consequently 
elected  were  to  be  found  the  names  of  prominent  mem- 
bers of  the  Presbyterian,  Eelbrmed  Dutch,  and  Con- 
gregational Churches. — Drs.  Alexander,  Eice,  Eichards, 
ilillyer,  Davis,  De  Witt,  Griffin,  Miller,  Porter,  Wilson, 
Taylor,  Tyler,  Beman,  Payson,  Day,  Carnahan,  ISTeill, 
McDowell,  Fish,  and  others  scarcely  less  distinguished 
for  eminence  and  piety.  Tlie  formation  of  the  society 
was  hailed  almost  by  acclamation  from  all  parts  of  the 
Union.  From  Kentuclcy,  Mississippi,  and  the  Carolinas, 
as  well  as  from  the  States  west  of  New  York,  tkere 
came  back  a  cheerful  response  to  a  project  which  placed 
another  on  tlie  list  of  national  societies  and  which  pro- 
mised to  be  not  less  beneficent  than  any  of  the  others. 
The  first  address  of  the  executive  committee  dwelt 
with  gi-eat  emphasis  upon  its  national  charac  .r.  It 
\"as  to  be  national  in  its  object,  plan,  dependence,  and 
location.  It  designed  '^no  interference  with  the  benevo- 
lent exertions  of  those  who  might  deem  it  their  duty 
to  act  apart  from  its  advice."    On  these  broad  grounds 

1  One  hundred  and  one  missionaries,  eiglity-one  of  wliom  were  in 
the  State  of  New  York,  were  in  the  service  of  the  United  Domestic 
Missionary  Society. 


GENERAL    SURVEY,    ]S2:-1830,  337 

it  claimed  to  be  exempt  from  the  charge  of  presumption 
in  assuming  "the  style  of  a  national  institution." 

With  scarcely  so  much  as  a  isingle  dissenting  voice,  it 
received  the  suifrage  and  sympathy  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church.  No  jealousy  was  felt  in  its  feebleness  of  an 
organization  which  in  full  maturity  of  strength  might 
wield  almost  the  power  of  a  distinct  denomination.  Its 
missionaries  went  forth  to  the  West  and  South  to  receive 
from  every  quarter  a  cordial  welcome.  There  was  a 
broad  field  opened  before  it,  more  than  justifying  its 
organization.  Taking  the  whole  West  into  view,  with 
its  six  Synods  (1828),  the  missionary  field  which  it  pre- 
sented was  one  which  might  well  excite  alarm  and  yet 
inspire  to  effort.  Its  condition  urgently  demanded  the 
most  serious  attention  of  Eastei*n  Christians  and  the 
concentration  of  all  their  missionar}^  energies.  The 
number  of  organized  congregations  Avas  not  far  from 
six  hundred  and  fifty,  while  the  places  which  were  yet 
unoccupied  and  open  to  Presbyterian  organization 
might  be  counted  not  by  scores,  but  by  hundreds.  Yet 
in  the  entire  field  there  were  but  little  more  than  three 
hundred  ministers.  Five  hundred,  at  least,  Avere  imme- 
diately needed  to  supply  its  urgent  necessities. 

In  the  South  and  SouthM'^est— in  Virginia  and  North 
Carolina,  as  well  as  in  Louisiana  and  Mississippi — the 
demand  for  additional  laborers  was  equally  urgent. 
Even  the  oldest-settled  portions  of  the  Church  w^ei-e 
but  scantily  supplied,  and  many  congregations  were 
entirely  destitute  of  regular  preaching.  Yet  the  At- 
lantic States  were  highly  favored  when  compared  with 
those  beyond  the  mountains.  It  is  not  surprising,  when 
the  state  of  the  entire  country  is  taken  into  view,  that 
the  great  mass  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  should  hail 
with  joy  the  inauguration  of  a  national  institution 
which  promised  to  supply  a  national  want.  It  may 
not  be  amiss  to  review — not  only  with  reference  to  the 

Vol.  ir.— 29 


338  HISTORY    or    PUtiSCYXERIANISM. 

circumstances  which  gave  birth  to  the  American  Homo 
Missionary  Society,  but  with  resjDect  also  to  the  condi- 
tion and  prosjiccts  of  the  Churcli — the  religious  state 
of  the  country  as  related  to  Presbyterian  progress  at 
the  time  when  the  American  Home  Missionary  Society 
w^as  instituted.  In  the  State  of  New  York,  where  mis- 
sionary oj^erations  had  been  vigorousl}^  conducted  for 
more  than  twenty  years,  and  in  which  the  United  Do- 
mestic Missionary  Society  had  about  eighty  commis- 
sioned ministers  in  its  employ,  the  population  was  more 
liberally  supplied  with  the  means  of  grace  than  in 
almost  any  other  j^art  of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 
Yet  even  here  tlie  field  was  far  from  fully  occupied. 
Even  as  late  as  1830  the  demand  was  ui'gent  for  more 
ministers  and  the  means  to  support  them.  The  Presb}'- 
tery  of  Troy  at  this  period  had  under  its  care  twenty- 
six  churches,  and  only  eleven  or  twelve  ministers  en- 
gaged in  pastoral  duty.  Nine  or  ten  of  the  churches 
were  without  preaching,  except  through  an  occasional 
supply  from  the  Presbytery  or  from  some  travelling 
minister. 

In  many  of  the  western  parts  of  the  State  there  was 
even  greater  destitution.  Of  the  twenty-two  churches 
of  Oswego  Presbytery,  only  two  were  fully  supplied 
with  preaching.  Eight  were  partially  supplied,  and 
twelve  were  entirely  destitute.  In  what  was  called 
"  the  Western  District"  of  the  State,  there  were  fifty 
congregations  vacant,  and  a  call  for  the  organization 
of  fifty  more  in  fields  as  yet  unocciapicd.  In  1825-26 
there  was  but  one  self-supporting  church  within  t!ie 
bounds  of  Niagara  Presbytery. 

In  Northern  Pennsylvania  the  state  of  things  was 
much  the  same  as  in  Western  New  Y'ork.^     In  New 


1  Some  estimate  of  its  character  at  a  later  period  may  be  derived 
■^om  Prime's  Life  of  Dr.  Murray. 


GENERAL    SURVEY,   1825-1830.  339 

Jersey  there  was  a  loud  call  for  missionary  effort. 
Some  portions  of  the  State  might  almost  be  denomi- 
nated heathen  ground.  On  the  Eastern  Shore  from 
Shrewsbury  to  Cape  May  there  was  but  a  single  Presbj^- 
terian  Church.^  A  missionary  Avho  traversed  nearly  the 
whole  southern  part  of  the  State  said,  "  On  the  whole, 
the  country  through  which  I  travelled  presents  a  very 
gloomy  aspect  to  the  e3'e  of  Christian  philanthropy." 

Passing  onward  to  the  regions  farther  West,  we  find 
that  in  Geauga  county,  on  Lake  Erie,  in  the  northeast 
of  Ohio,  there  was  but  a  single  Presbyterian  pastor  in 
1827.  The  moral  and  religious  condition  of  the  region 
was  represented  as  most  deplorable.  In  connection 
with  the  Synod  of  the  Western  Eeserve,  there  were 
eightj^-seven  churches,  and  Avithin  its  limits  forty-two 
Presbyterian  ministei's;  but  of  the  churches  forty-one 
consisted  of  not  over  twenty  members  each,  and  of  the 
ministers  three  only  preached  their  whole  time  to  single 
congregations.  To  the  north  of  Granville,  when  the 
revivals  of  1828  commenced,  the  church  at  Hartford, 
consisting  of  fifteen  members,  had  not  enjoyed  the  pri- 
vilege of  the  communion  for  seven  years.  Bennington 
and  Burlington,  where  the  work  extended  with  great 
power,  had  never  enjoyed  the  stated  ministrations  of 
the  gospel.  A  large  number  of  the  churches  through- 
out the  State  were  altogether  unsupplied  with  ministers, 
and  many  of  them  were  in  such  a  feeble  state  that  even 
if  two  or  three  had  united  in  their  efforts  they  would 
have  been  utterly  unable  to  support  a  pastor  without  aid 
from  abroad.  The  northwestern  portion  of  the  State 
could  not,  indeed,  be  said  to  be  settled.  Here  and  there 
an  opening  had  been  made ;  but  there  was  scarcely  as 
j-et  an  organized  church  in  this  region,  which  was  soon 
destined  to  receive  a  large  accession  of  population. 

1  Report  of  U.  D.  M.  S.,  1826. 


34:0  HISTOKY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

Into  Indiana  (1827)  a  tide  of  immigration  was  pour- 
ing with  unexampled  rapidity.  Farms  were  "  every- 
where opening  in  the  wilderness."  Already  "  every 
twenty  or  thirt}^  miles  the  spire  of  a  handsome  court- 
house of  brick"  rose  "  amidst  the  deadened  trunks"  of 
the  veterans  of  the  forest.  The  tract  of  country  border- 
ing on  the  Wabash  was  fast  becoming  "the  garden- 
spot"  of  the  State.  Population  was  augmenting  at  a 
most  rapid  rate.  It  was  estimated  already  at  between 
two  and  three  hundred  thousand  within  the  State  limits. 
Yet  there  were  but  twelve  resident  Presbyterian  min- 
isters. The  field  of  the  Presbytery  which  included 
Indianapolis  was  two  hundred  miles  long  by  eighty 
broad,  and,  although  numbering  nineteen  congrega- 
tions, it  had  but  four  members  with  pastoral  charges. 
The  resident  pastor  at  Indianapolis,  George  Bush,  had 
to  travel  one  hundred  and  fortj'  miles  to  the  meeting 
of  Presbytery;  and  his  nearest  clerical  neighbor  was 
from  forty  to  fifty  miles  distant  from  him.  Two  years 
later  there  had  been  a  great  advance ;  but  the  reli- 
gious destitution  was  still  lamentable.  In  1826-27,  five 
churches  within  the  bounds  of  one  of  the  Presbyteries 
had  become  extinct  through  want  of  ministers.  Within 
the  State  there  were  estimated  to  be  sixty  Presbyterian 
churches,  with  only  twenty-five  ministers;  and  in  thirty 
I  counties  there  was  not  a  single  minister. 

In  Illinois  there  were  but  six  or  seven  ministers 
settled  as  pastors.  The  labors  devolved  upon  them 
were  overwhelming.  All  that  they  could  accomplish 
seemed  lost  in  the  broad  waste  which  stretched  around 
them  on  ever}"  side.  This  was  the  case  also  in  Missouri 
There  were  but  five  or  six  missionaries  in  the  whole 
State  in  connection  with  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
while  many  places  stood  in  pressing  need  of  aid.^ 

1  The  population  of  Illinois  and  Missouri  together  amounted,  in 


I 


J 


GENERAL    SURVEY,    1825-1830.  341 

Michigan,  Avitli  a  population  of  thii'ty  thousand,  had 
in  1830  but  seven  Presbyterian  ministers,  members  of 
the  Presbytery  of  Detroit.  Two  others  were  on  the 
Avay  to  the  fiehJ ;  but  they  could  scarcely  keep  good  the 
proportion  to  the  immigrant  population  at  the  same 
time  entering  the  Territory. 

In  Kentucky  there  were  in  1827  only  three  points, 
in  the  extensive  portion  of  it  bordering  on  the  Ohio 
Eiver,  where  the  ministry  was  supported.  These  were 
Maysville,  Augusta,  and  Louisville.  In  the  bounds  of 
JMuhlenburg  Presbytery  there  were  sixteen  vacancies. 
In  one  portion  of  the  State,  with  a  population  of  one 
liundred  thousand,  there  was  not  a  Presbyterian  min- 
ister. In  the  whole  State,  with  a  population  of  nearly 
six  hundred  thousand,  there  were  but  forty  Presby- 
terian pastors. 

In  East  Tennessee,  no  society  that  had  yet  been 
formed  had  been  hailed  with  greater  joy  by  the  friends 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  than  the  American  Home 
Missionary  Society.  The  number  of  ministers  in  the 
region  was  very  small,  compared  with  the  j)opulation; 
yet  there  were  many  congregations  ready  and  anxious 
to  do  something,  if  they  could  be  assisted  in  the  support 
of  a  minister.^  West  Tennessee  was  even  less  favored. 
Its  destitutions  were  greater,  and  its  means  of  supply 
were  far  more  limited.  So  pressing  were  its  necessities 
that  the  S^aiod  in  1827  determined  to  establish  a  theo- 
logical seminary  in  connection  with  the  university  re- 

1824,  to  one  hundred  and  sixty  thousand ;  but  in  this  field  there 
■were  at  tliis  time  only  eighteen  organized  churches,  nearly  every 
one  of  them  exceedingly  feeble,  and  only  seven  ordained  ministers. 
1  A  missionary  having  charge  of  four  churches  in  Rutherford 
county,  in  the  central  part  of  the  State,  writes,  Aug.  28,  1830, 
"There  is  not  another  Presbyterian  preacher  between  me  a-nd  the 
Cumberland  Mountain, — a  region  of  ten  counties,  and  most  of  them 
thickly  populated."— <7/im.  Adv.,  1830,  p.  5G0. 

29« 


342:  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

cently  incorporated  at  Nashville,  for  the  training  of 
young  men  for  the  ministry. 

At  New  Orleans  there  was  the  single  Presbyterian 
church  gathered  by  Cornelius  and  Larned,  and  of 
which  Theodore  Clapp  was  now  pastor.  The  popula- 
tion of  the  city  was  nearly  fifty  thousand,  and  in  the 
busy  season  not  far  short  of  seventy  thousand.  Its 
position  gave  it  an  important  influence  over  the  entire 
valley  of  the  Mississippi.  Yet  several  3'ear8  passed 
while  its  appeals  were  unheeded  save  hy  the  few 
friends  who  in  1826-27  aided  J.  L.  de  Fernex  in  his 
attempt  to  build  up  a  French  Protestant  church. 

In  the  rest  of  the  State  there  were  but  two  Presb}'- 
teriau  ministers.  West  of  the  Mississippi  there  was 
not  one.  South  of  Tennessee  and  west  of  Alabama 
there  were  but  six,  including  the  two  at  Natchez  and 
New  Orleans.  The  two  States  of  Mississippi  and 
Louisiana  were  within  the  bounds  of  the  Mississippi 
Presbytery,  and  among  a  jjopulation  of  nearly  three 
hundred  thousand  the  Presbytery  numbered  but  twelve 
members,  only  nine  of  whom  were  engaged  in  minis- 
terial labors  upon  the  field.  Yet  Memphis,  Port  Gibson, 
The  New  Purchase,  Liberty,  and  Pisgah  were  importu- 
nate for  supplies.  Five  or  six  new  churches  were 
organized  during  the  year, — one  at  Baton  Rouge, — and 
fwere  urgent  in  their  demands  for  pastors.  East  of 
Pearl  River  every  church  was  destitute  of  regulai 
preaching.  The  only  aid  which  they  had  received  was 
from  three  missionaries  sent  out  by  the  Assembly,  and 
from  De  Fernex  at  New  Orleans. 

In  the  bounds  of  the  Presbytery  of  Alabama  there 
were  numerous  settlements  which  invited  aid,  and 
where  by  missionar}"  and  pastoral  labor  churches 
might  be  organized.  This  was  especially  the  case  in 
the  southeastern  section  of  the  State,  on  the  borders  of 
Florida.     At  Pensacola,  in  the  country  west  of  Black 


GENERAL    SURVEY,    1825   1S:J0.  343 

Warrior  River,  in  the  region  north  and  northeast  of 
Tuscaloosa,  there  were  fields  which  urgently  claimed 
attention.  The  table  of  the  Presbytery  "was  literally 
covered  with  the  petitions  of  these  people  for  supplies." 
In  1827  the  recently  organized  church  at  Mobile,  con- 
sisting of  one  hundred  and  twelve  members  and  sup- 
plied but  once  a  month  by  Rev.  Mr.  Kennedy,  com- 
menced the  erection  of  a  church-edifice  which  was  to 
serve  as  church,  academy,  Sunday-school  room,  and 
Bible  and  tract  depository.  At  about  the  same  time 
a  church  of  sixty  members  was  organized  in  Pike 
county;  but  for  these  and  other  churches  it  was  impos- 
sible to  procure  regular  preaching.  In  Georgia  the 
Presbytery  of  Hopewell,  extending  over  nearly  the 
entire  State,  had  numerous  vacant  churches  appljnng 
for  aid;  but,  after  making  appointment  of  settled  pas- 
tors as  temporary  supplies  as  far  as  they  felt  warranted, 
they  could  not  meet  the  demand  which  was  made  upon 
them.  With  seventeen  ordained  ministers,  they  needed 
at  least,  and  at  once,  more  than  twice  as  many.  The 
number  of  churches  was  rapidly  multiplj'ing,  at  a  rate- 
fivefold  the  increase  of  the  members  of  Presb^^tery. 
The  earnestness  of  the  applications  for  ministerial  aid 
was  deeply  affecting, — "  to  the  Presbytery,  heart-melt- 
ing." It  was  most  trying  to  be  compelled,  from  want 
of  men  and  means,  to  deny  them  aid. 

In  East  Florida  there  was  a  single  Protestant  church 
in  a  population  numbering  six  thousand,  one-third  of 
which  was  at  St.  Augustine.  Mr.  Eleazar  Lathrop, 
seconding  McWhir  in  his  efforts,  had  labored  to  build 
up  a  Presbyterian  congregation  at  this  place;  but  in 
1826,  on  the  failure  of  his  health,  he  Avas  succeeded  by 
Mr.  Snowden.  In  West  Florida,  D.  R.  Preston,  sent 
out  by  the  Assembly's  Board  of  Missions  to  labor  in 
Pensacola  and  places  adjacent,  found  but  a  single  Pro^ 
testant  minister, — a  Methodist.    Prior  to  his  visit,  only 


344  HISTORY    OF    TRESBYTERIANISM. 

one  sermon  Imd  ever  been  preached  in  the  region  by  a 
Presbyterian  minister.  Throughout  the  Territory  the 
state  of  morals  was  sad  indeed.  At  St.  Augustine 
especially  this  was  the  case.  Gambling-houses  and 
billiard-tables  were  licensed  bj'^  law. 

South  Carolina  Presbyter}-,  embracing  the  western 
part  of  the  State,  had  (1827)  thirty-five  churches  and 
but  twelve  members.  Not  a  single  congregation  en- 
joyed the  undivided  labors  of  a  pastor.  Some  of  the 
ministers  supplied  three,  and  even  four,  congregations. 
Yet  twelve  churches  were  vacant^  and  there  was  no 
prospect  of  supply  unless  laborers  were  sent  from 
abroad.  Three  of  the  oldest  and,  at  one  time,  most 
flourishing  churches  of  the  Presbytery  were  sinking 
to  decay  from  the  want  of  pastors.  The  edifices  in 
which  they  worshipped  w^ere  unoccupied  and  crum- 
bling to  ruins. 

The  destitution  in  North  Carolina  was  extreme.  A 
home  missionary  on  his  way  to  his  field  in  Davidson 
county  said,  "I  travelled  over  the  space  of  about  two 
Inindred  and  forty  miles  from  Newbern,  and  found  a 
region  of  country  between  Greensborough,  in  Guilford 
count}^,  and  Salisbury,  in  Eowan  county,  fifty  miles  in 
extent,  entirely  destitute  of  that  kind  of  influence 
exerted  by  a  well-qualified  ministry."  As  a  general 
thing,  throughout  the  State,  ministers  with  two  or 
three  congregations  from  six  to  fifteen  and  twenty 
miles  apart  were  obliged  to  obtain  no  small  -pnvi  of 
their  support  from  secular  employments. 

In  Northwestern  Virginia  and  the  extensive  border- 
ing regions  in  Ohio  and  Kentucky,  the  religious  desti- 
tution which  prevailed  was  extreme.  A  home  mission- 
ary found  himself  here  in  a  tract  one  hundred  miles  in 
diameter  in  which  there  was  not  another  Presbyterian 
minister,  and  in  which  there  were  only  the  two  small 
churches  of  Burlington  and  Bethesda.     In  the  bounds 


GENERAL    SURVEY,    1S23-1830.  345 

of  Winchester  Presbytery,  embracing  twelve  counties 
on  the  east  and  seven  on  the  west  of  the  Bhie  Ridge, 
there  were  but  fourteen  ministers;  and  it  was  estimated 
that  at  least  a  population  of  one  hundred  and  thirty 
thousand  were  without  the  regular  ministrations  of  the 
gospel. 

In  Maryland  and  Eastern  Virginia  many  of  the  Pres- 
byterian churches  were  in  a  verj'  decayed  state.  Some 
that  were  once  flourishing  had  but  a  name  to  live. 
The  church  at  Drummondstown,  where  Makemie  once 
preached,  had  totally  disappeared.  In  Vienna,  on  the 
banks  of  the  Nanticoke,  not  a  vestige  was  left  of  the 
building  in  which  the  Presbj'terians  once  worshipped. 
Eight  miles  from  Snow  Hill,  a  congregation,  which 
within  fifteen  yeai'S  previous  was  large  and  flourishing, 
■was  entirely  scattered.  In  Cambridge  there  had  been 
a  Presbyterian  church;  but  now^,  said  the  report,  ^'Icha- 
bod  may  be  wa-itten  amidst  its  ruins."  Other  churches 
had  met  with  a  similar  experience,  while  others  still 
gave  feeble  warrant  of  a  protracted  existence.  Only 
with  great  difficulty  could  many  of  them  be  sustained. 
In  the  Presbytery  of  Lewes  there  were  about  eight 
hundred  members  and  but  four  ordained  ministers. 
Yet  the  peninsula  which  it  occupied  opened  "  a  wide 
and  inviting  field  for  ministerial  enterprise."  There 
were  large  tOAvns  where,  without  intruding  on  ground 
occupied  by  others,  new  congregations  might  be  formed. 

In  such  circumstances  as  these,  it  is  not  surprising 
that  among  all  classes  and  in  all  sections  the  Home 
Missionarj^  Society  should  appear  to  be  just  the  agency 
demanded  by  the  emergency.  It  had  a  noble  field,  and 
it  speedily  rallied  around  it  the  sympathies  of  the 
friends  of  evangelical  religion  throughout  the  land. 
Various  influences  concurred  to  secure  it  a  favorable 
prestige  and  popular  sympathy.  The  old  method  of 
"sending  out  itinerants  to  organize   churches  in  fields 


S46  HISTORY   OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

which  in  some  cases  were  not  revisited  for  years,  would 
no  longer  answer.  In  many  instances  the  remoteness 
of  the  field,  exc<)pt  for  ministers  ah-eady  settled,  was 
snch  that  more  time  was  consumed  on  the  journey 
than  in  the  duties  of  the  mission.  It  not  unfrequently 
happened  that  the  transient  labors  of  a  Presbyterian 
missionary  merely  laid  the  foundation  upon  which 
other  denominations,  or  perhaps  errorists,  might  build. 
The  tour  of  Messrs.  Mills  and  8ehermerhorn  in  1812-13 
enabled  them  to  see  the  impolicy  of  siich  efforts  to  sus- 
tain missions;  and  In  their  re|X>rt  they  gave  full  expres- 
sion to  their  convictions.  The  Eastern  Societies,  the 
United  Domestic  Missionary  Society,  and  its  successor 
the  American  Home  Missionary  Society,  endeavored  to 
improve  on  these  suggestions.  They  sent  out  men  for 
the  most  part  not  already  settled  as  pastors,  but  who 
might  locate  themselves  on  the  field.  The  reports  of 
such  men,  knov/n  at  the  East,  excited  interest  there  j 
while  the  Western  churches  looked  more  hopefully  to 
the  societies  which  met  their  wants,  than  to  the  As- 
j^embly's  Board,  which  failed  to  do  it.  This  fket  is  at- 
tested by  the  transfer  of  popular  sympathy,  by  which 
•  the  missionary  resoui-ces  of  the  Assembly's  Board  fell, 
several  years  previous  to  1826-27,  from  five  thousand 
to  four  thousand  dollars;  and  even  in  this  latter  sum 
was  included  the  interest  of  the  permanent  fund,  then 
amounting  to  nearly  twenty-one  thousand  dollai-s. 

In  connection  with  the  work  of  home  missions  there 
was  an  inci-easing  and  more  urgent  demand  for  min- 
isters of  the  gospel.  To  meet  tlHS  demand,  extraor- 
dinary efforts  were  made.  Until  1818,  Princeton  Semi- 
nary was  the  only  public  institution  for  the  special 
education  of  ministers  of  the  gospel  within  the  bounds 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church ;  although  Ham]xlen-Sidney 
Lad  enjoyed  the  labors  of  a  Theological  professor.  In 
that  year  the  S^'nod  of  Geneva,  convened  at  Eochester, 


GENERAL    SURVEY,  1S25-1830.  347 

resolved,  after  a  protracted  discussion,  on  the  establish- 
ment of  a  seminary  in  Western  New  York.  In  tlie 
following  spring  the  project  was  laid  before  the  Gene- 
ral Assembly.  Although  this  body  did  not  feel  war- 
ranted to  promise  its  support  or  extend  aid,  it  threw 
no  obstacle  in  the  way  of  the  Synod.  Measures  were 
therefore  taken  for  the  endowment  of  the  mstitution. 
More  than  sixteen  thousand  dollars  were  almost  imme- 
diately subscribed,  and  Auburn  was  selected  as  the  site 
for  the  seminary.  An  act  of  incorjjoration  was  secured 
in  1820,  by  which  the  general  supervision  and  direction 
of  the  institution  were  taken  from  the  Synod  and  placed 
in  the  hands  of  a  Board  of  Commissioners,  to  be  an- 
nually selected  from  the  Presbyteries.  Messrs.  Mills 
and  Lansing  and  Dr.  M.  L.  Perriue  were  elected  pro- 
fessors, and  on  the  second  Wednesday  of  October,  1821, 
the  course  of  instruction  in  the  seminary  commenced. 
The  students  the  first  year  numbered  eleven.  Seven 
years  later,  they  amounted  to  seventy-six. 

Perhaps  in  no  portion  of  the  Church  was  the  need 
of  enlarged  means  of  liberal  education  more  deeply 
felt  than  within  the  bounds  of  the  Western  Reserve. 
The  necessities  of  the  region  have  been  already  stated. 
Miami  College,  under  Dr.  Bishop,  had  been  established 
in  1824,  but  the  local  demands  of  the  Eeserve  led  to 
the  establishment  of  the  college  founded  two  j-ears 
later  at  Hudson.  At  a  subsequent  period  a  Theological 
department  was  connected  with  it.  For  many  years  it 
struggled  for  existence.  It  was  without  a  presiding 
officer,  and  its  endowments  were  quite  limited ;  but  in 
three  years  the  number  of  its  students  rose  from  four 
or  five  to  forty.  Two  additional  buildings  were  erected, 
and  accommodations  provided  for  eighty  students.  The 
citizens  of  Kew  York,  in  1830,  contributed  liberally 
toward  the  necessities  of  the  institutioij. 

In  1826  the  Anierican  Home  Missionary  Society  ap- 


348  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

plied  to  Andover  and  Princeton  Seminaries  for  "Western 
missionaries.  Nowhere  were  they  in  greater  demand 
than  in  Illinois  and  Missoui-i.  In  the  former  State  it 
was  felt  unwise  to  wait  for  the  tardy  operations  of 
Eastern  benevolence.  Immediate  provision  should 
be  made  for  training  up  men  on  the  mission-field.  In 
1826  measures  were  taken  for  the  establishment  of  a 
Theological  Seminary  at  Rock  Spring;  and  before  the 
close  of  the  following  year  the  institution  numbered 
two  theological,  and  fifty  other,  students,  while  applica- 
tions were  numerous  beyond  the  means  of  accommoda- 
tion. 

In  1828  the  Presbytery  of  Illinois  deputed  one  of  its 
members,  J.  M.  Ellis,  to  apply  at  the  East  for  aid  for 
the  more  ample  endowment  of  a  seminary  of  learning, 
which  they  hoped  would  grow  into  a  college.  This  was 
the  first  important  step  tow^ard  securing  the  funds 
necessary  to  found  Illinois  College.  Mr.  Ellis  visited 
New  Haven  and  New  York.  In  the  latter  city  he  was 
warmly  received  by  members  of  the  Presbyterian  and 
Reformed  Dutch  Churches.  At  a  meeting  of  several 
gentlemen  interested  in  the  cause,  two  thousand  dollars 
were  subscribed  in  its  behalf,  and  the  subscription  was 
afterward  considerably  increased.  Before  the  close  of 
1829  the  walls  of  the  college-building  were  up,  and  it 
was  ready  soon  after  for  the  reception  of  students. 

Already  the  Presbyterians  of  Indiana  had  commenced 
their  labors  in  the  cause  of  education.  Hanover  Aca- 
demy, at  South  Hanover,  in  Jefferson  county,  had  been 
established,  the  germ  of  South  Hanover  College ;  and 
the  cheei'ing  fact  was  announced  that  fourteen  of  its 
twenty  students  were  hopefully  pious.  In  1829  mea- 
sures were  taken  by  the  Synod  to  establish  a  Theolo- 
gical Seminary  in  connection  with  the  institution.  The 
trustees  tenderpd  their  charter  to  the  Synod,  and  it  was 
accepted.     A   Theological   department  was  instituted, 


GENERAL    SURVEY,    1826-1830.  349 

and  Dr.  John  Matthews  was  unanimously  elected  Theo- 
logical Professor.  In  1830,  at  the  meeting  of  Synod, 
the  constitution  of  the  "  Indiana  Theological  Seminary" 
was  adopted,  directors  were  appointed,  and  another 
professor  (John  P.  Crowe)  chosen. 

Kentucky  was  urgent  for  the  establishment  of  a  Theo- 
logical Seminary  on  the  plan  of  Princeton  ;  and  the  sub- 
ject Avas  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  Assemblj'  of 
1825.  But  other  portions  of  the  Church  at  the  West 
were  interested  in  the  project,  and  the  question  of  the 
location  of  the  seminary  was  one  of  no  little  perplexity. 
The  report  of  a  committee  to  whom  the  subject  was 
given  in  charge,  and  which  was  made  to  the  Assembly 
of  1826,  designated  Alleghany  Town,  in  Western  Penn- 
sylvania, as  the  site  of  the  proposed  institution.  This 
was  too  far  East  to  suit  the  great  majority  of  the 
Western  members.  It  was  finally  resolved  that  the 
institution  be  located  either  at  Alleghany  Town,  or  at 
Walnut  Hills,  near  Cincinnati,  or  at  Charleston,  Indiana, 
as  the  General  Assembly  of  1827  should  direct.  Against 
this  resolution  deferring  action  Rev.  Dr.  J.  L.  Wilson 
entered  his  protest.  The  Western  Sj-nods,  he  said,  had 
too  long  languished  for  the  want  of  such  an  institution. 
The  action  of  the  Assembly  was,  moreover,  objection- 
able as  setting  up  the  site  of  the  seminary  to  the  highest 
bidder,  and  might  have  the  effect  of  locating  it  on  a 
spot  which  would  not  meet  the  wishes  or  wants  of  the 
Western  churches.  The  decision  of  the  Assembly  was 
also,  in  his  view,  calculated  to  divide  the  attention,  dis- 
tract the  counsels,  and  cut  off  the  hopes  of  those  sections 
of  the  Western  country  which  most  needed  such  an  in- 
stitution, while  it  Avould  effectually  deter  Cincinnati — 
the  neighborhood  of  which  was  most  favorable  for  the 
site — from  earnest  effort  in  its  behalf. 

In  spite,  however,  of  all  the  objections  that  were 

Vol.  II.— 30 


330  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

urged,  Alleghany  City  was  finally  chosen,  in  1<S27,  as 
the  site  of  the  Western  Theological  Seminary.  The 
institution  was  opened  in  the  tall  of  the  same  3'ear. 
For  some  time  its  prospects  were  far  from  cheering. 
The  professors  chosen  to  till  its  chairs  declined  their 
appointments.  Its  funds  had  been  mismanaged,  and 
eucii  year  for  quite  a  period  the  Assembly  was  under 
the  necessity  of  making  large  appropriations  not  merely 
for  the  support  of  the  instructors,  but  the  erection  of 
buildings. 

The  establishment  of  this  seminary  in  Western  Penn- 
sylvania was  not  regarded  b}-  the  more  Western  Sjniods 
with  entire  satisfaction.  It  was  almost  immediately 
after  the  decision  of  the  Assembly  was  announced  that 
the  Indiana  Sj'nod  commenced  its  independent  opera- 
tions; and  the  attention  of  the  Kentucky- Synod  already 
began  to  be  drawn  to  the  project  which  resulted  in  the 
establishment  of  its  own  institution  at  Danville.  They 
went  so  far  as  to  appoint  a  Theological  Professor  in 
connection  with  the  college. 

Meanwhile,  Southwestern  Ohio  felt  that  its  claims  had 
been  overlooked,  and  there  was  here  also  a  disposition 
to  proceed  independently  of  the  Assembly.  The  means 
only  were  wanting  for  carrying  out  the  project;  but 
these  were  soon,  in  part  at  least,  to  be  supplied.  Wal- 
nut Hills  had  been  the  rival  of  Alleghany  Town  in  its 
claim  as  the  site  of  the  seminary  which  the  Assembly 
was  to  establish.  This  claim  the  Western  Synods 
were  not  yet  prepared  to  relinquish.  Thc}^  felt  that 
the  Assembly's  choice  was  unfortunate;  and,  though 
compelled  to  acquiesce  in  the  decision  which  was  carried 
l)y  a  bare  majority,  they  Avere  disposed  to  improve 
whatever  occasion  might  offer  to  secure  the  advantages 
of  a  seminary  of  their  own. 

The  seminary  at  Alleghany  Town  promised  in  1829 


GENERAL   SURVEY,   1825-1830.  '351 

to  be  little  better  than  a  failure.^  The  Synods  of  Ken- 
tucky, Ohio,  and  Indiana  had  very  decidedly  refused 
to  co-operate  with  it,  as,  indeed,  its  remoteness  in  great 
measure  precluded  co-operation.  The  way  was  now 
opened  for  carrying  out  the  project  of  a  literary  and 
theological  institution  at  Walnut  Hills,  two  miles  from 
Cincinnati,  the  place  selected  by  the  committee  of  the 
Assembly  in  1827.  Some  time  after  the  revival  of  1828, 
the  two  Messrs  Lane,  of  Boston,  having  been  convinced 
from  personal  observation  on  their  way  to  Xew  Orleans 
of  the  demand  which  existed  for  the  establishment  of  a 
theological  institution,  resolved  to  found  it  themselves. 
They  were  Bajjtists,  but  men  of  liberal  and  comprehen- 
sive views.  They  presented  the  project  first  to  their 
own  denomination,  but,  finding  them  indisposed  to  co- 
operate, they  resolved  to  make  their  munificent  ofter 
to  the  Presbyterians.  Lane  Seminary  was  accordingly 
founded,  after  conference  with  the  professors  at  Prince- 
ton, and  with  Dr.  "Wilson  at  Cincinnati  and  Dr.  Nelson 
at  Danville.  At  first  only  a  literary  department  was 
established,  which  was  afterward  transferred  to  the 
Miami  University  under  the  care  of  Dr.  Bishop.  AVhen 
the  Theological  department  was  established,  Arthur 
Tappan,  of  New  York,  oftered  to  found  a  professorship, 
on  condition  that  Dr.  Lyman  Beecher  should  be  the 
incumbent.  The  condition  was  accepted.  Dr.  Wilson 
was  consulted  in  the  matter,  and  is  said  to  have  been 
instrumental  in  inviting  to  the  Presidency  of  the  insti- 
tution the  man  whom  only  a  few  months  subsequently 
he  prosecuted  for  heresy.'' 

The  Southern  and  Western  Theological  Seminary  at 
Marj'ville  in  East  Tennessee,  and  under  the  care  of  the 

1  For  a,  description  of  the  location  of  the  seminary,  see  Assembly's 
Minutes  for  1828,  p.  251. 

•^  Davidson's  Kentucky.  Dr.  Wilson  himself,  however,  denied 
this. 


352  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

Synod,  was,  amid  great  discouragement,  doing  a  good 
work  for  the  supply  of  the  churches.  No  institution 
kindred  to  it  was  to  be  found  within  the  distance  of  live 
hundred  miles.  It  was  located  in  a  position  central  to 
a  population  of  two  millions,  large  numbers  of  whom 
were  altogether  destitute  of  the  stated  privileges  of  the 
gospel,  and  while  many  churches  of  the  region,  once 
flourishing,  were  going  to  decay.  It  may  serve  to  give 
some  idea  of  the  primitive  simplicity  of  the  arrange- 
ments of  the  institution,  as  well  as  of  the  difficulties 
which  it  had  to  encounter,  to  state  that  while  many 
of  its  members  were  charity-students,  twelve  hundred 
bushels  of  corn  were  credited  to  their  labor  in  a  single 
year,  and  the  expense  of  the  institution  for  their  board 
was  thus  reduced  to  one  dollar  per  month.  Effort  was 
made  to  give  greater  efficiency  to  the  opxjrations  of  the 
seminary  and  enlarge  its  resources,  and  urgent  appeals 
were  made  in  its  behalf  to  the  Christian  public.  But 
it  was  less  fortunate  at  this  period  than  some  other 
kindred  institutions  its  juniors  in  age,  but  not  its  su- 
periors in  merit. 

"Western  Tennessee  was  also  dissatisfied  with  the 
location  of  the  Assembly's  seminary,  and  in  1827  the 
Synod  resolved  to  devise  and  mature  a  plan  for  a  Theo- 
logical Seminary  within  its  bounds.  Nashville  College 
had  gone  into  operation  in  1825,  and  it  was  considered 
wisest  by  some  to  appoint  a  Theological  Professor  in 
connection  with  it. 

Even  Mississippi,  feeble  in  Presbyterian  resources, 
felt  at  this  juncture  the  common  impulse  in  favor  of 
the  cause  of  education.  In  1829,  Jeremiah  Chamber- 
lain presented  to  the  Presbytery  of  Mississippi  the  plan, 
which  for  several  months  he  had  been  maturing,  of  an 
institution  to  be  under  the  care  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  and  to  be  located  somewhere  in  the  Southern 
country.     This  was  the  germ  of  Oakland  College,  of 


GENERAL    SURVEY,    1S25-1830.  353 

which  Dr.  Chambcrhiin  Avas  chosen  the  first  President. 
He  entered  upon  his  duties  in  1830. 

In  the  bounds  of  Virginia,  the  Union  Theological 
Seminary  had  been  engaged  for  two  or  three  years 
with  fair  prospects  in  the  work  of  ministerial  educa- 
tion;  but  its  endowment  was  insufficient,  and  in  1826 
it  was  received,  at  the  request  of  its  trustees,  under  the 
care  of  the  General  Assembly.  Measures  were  taken, 
however,  at  this  period  to  enlarge  its  resources.  Dr, 
John  H.  Rice  Avas  appointed  a  professor,  and  with  great 
energy  labored  to  secure  the  amount  necessary  for  the 
endowment  of  the  institution.  By  his  eiforts  in  New 
York  the  means  (thirty  thousand  dollars)  were  secured 
for  one  professorship.  Philadelphia  gave  ten  thousand 
dollars,  Virginia  about  twenty  thousand  dollars,  and 
with  the  Synod  of  Virginia  the  Synod  of  North  Caro- 
lina heartily  co-operated.  In  the  course  of  four  years 
from  the  appointment  of  Dr.  Rice,  the  number  of  theo- 
logical students  in  connection  with  the  seminary  was 
thirty-five.  A  plan  for  a  similar  institution  in  South 
Carolina  was  consequently,  for  the  time,  deferred. 

AVhile  the  cause  of  theological  and  collegiate  insti- 
tutions was  thus  receiving  an  attention  and  exciting  an 
interest  unprecedented  in  the  history  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church,  corresponding  effort  was  likewise  neces- 
sary for  the  aid  of  candidates  for  the  gospel  ministry. 
This  was  not  a  new  subject.  More  than  seventy  years 
before,  the  Synod  of  New  York  had  felt  the  necessity 
of  making  provision  for  the  education  of  indigent  can- 
didates, and  at  successive  periods  their  plan  for  an  an- 
nual collection  toward  the  object  had  been  revived.  In 
1806  the  claims  of  ministerial  education  were  earnestly 
pressed  by  the  Assembly  upon  the  attention  of  the  Pres- 
byteries; but  it  was  not  till  1819  that  a  Board  of  Edu- 
cation was  established. 

But  already  there  were  several  voluntary  and  local 
30* 


854  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

BOcieties  in  the  field.  In  1815  one  had  been  formed  at 
Boston.  Eight  3'ears  previously  one  had  been  organized 
at  Dorset  in  Vermont.  Soon  after  the  action  of  the 
Assembly  in  creating  its  own  Board,  education  societies 
sprang  up  extensively  throughout  the  bounds  of  the 
Church.  Some  of  these  were  auxiliary  to  the  Board, 
and  some  to  the  American  Education  Societ}^. 

This  last  institution  was  located  at  Boston.  The  one 
formed  at  New  York  was  auxiliary  to  it.  This  was 
their  mutual  relation  till  it  was  reversed  by  the  removal 
of  the  society  to  New  York  in  1830.  The  appointment 
of  Elias  Cornelius  as  secretary  of  the  society,  in  1826, 
gave  a  new  impulse  to  the  cause.  His  labors  in  New 
York  City  were  eminently  successful.  He  infused  into 
other  minds  the  enthusiasm  and  energy  of  his  own. 
In  1828  the  Laight  Sti*eet  Church  resolved  to  educate 
thirty,  and  the  Central  Church  ten,  young  men  for  the 
ministry.  To  more  distant  parts  of  the  country  this 
reawakened  interest  in  the  cause  of  ministerial  educa- 
tion was  extended.  Numerous  auxiliaries  were  formed 
in  different  States,  and  extensively  throughout  the 
bounds  of  the  Church.  The  resources  of  the  society, 
as  well  as  the  applications  made  to  it,  were  doubled 
within  a  few  months,  and  the  removal  of  its  location 
to  New  York  seemed  to  give  it  rank  and  standing  by 
.  the  side  of  the  other  societies  which  had  assumed  to 
themselves  a  national  character. 

The  union  of  the  American  and  Presbyterian  Edu- 
cation Societies  was  effected  in  1827.  The  latter  society 
had  at  the  time  about  one  hundred  young  men  under 
its  patronage.  The  sphere  of  its  operations,  which  had 
previously  been  more  extended,  was  now  confined  to 
the  Middle  States.  The  two  denominations  were  united 
thus  in  the  same  organization.  Dr.  Eice,  of  Virginia, 
approved  the  plan.  "  I  am  very  greatly  pleased  with 
it,"  he  wrote.     '■  I  do  delight  greatly  in  witnessing  the 


GENERAL    SURVEY,    ISL'O-ISSO.  355' 

union  and  co-operation  of  Christians  in  building  up  the 
kingdom  of  our  common  Lord."  ''My  heart  rejoices," 
said  Cornelius,  "  in  the  smile  of  Heaven  upon  this  holy 
alliance."  This  was  the  feeling  which  prevailed  with 
great  unanimity  throughout  the  bounds  of  the  Church. 

The  success  of  the  society  thus  organized  occasioned 
joyful  surprise.  At  the  close  of  the  year  (in  1827)  there 
had  been  thirty-five  who  had  been  taken  under  the 
society's  jiatronage.  In  1829,  only  two  years  later,  the 
number  amounted  to  over  two  hundred. 

But  its  very  success  sowed  in  some  quarters  the  seeds 
of  jealousy.  The  Assembly's  Board  had  accomplished 
little.  The  energies  and  resources  by  which  it  should 
have  been  sustained  were  drawn  off  to  the  national 
society.  While  this  counted  its  beneficiaries  by  hun- 
dreds, the  Board  had  but  nineteen  upon  its  list.  In 
estimating  the  influences  that  bound  one  portion  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  in  sympathy  with  the  national 
societies  and  repelled  another  from  them,  thus  con- 
tributing to  the  division,  this  fact  is  not  to  be  over- 
looked. 

To  the  Xew  York  Missionary  Society  of  New  York 
the  United  Foreign  Missionary  Society  had  succeeded 
in  1817.  But  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners 
for  Foreign  Missions  had  been  instituted  several  years 
previous,  and  its  labors  in  foreign  lands  had  drawn 
largely  to  it  the  sympathies  of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 
The  reports  of  its  missionaries  were  read  throughout 
the  country,  and  in  various  quarters  secured  for  it 
active  co-operation.  Even  the  missionary  society  of 
South  Carolina  and  Georgia  became  an  auxiliary.  In 
these  circumstances,  a  plan  of  union  was  proposed 
between  the  New  York  Society  and  the  American 
Board.  It  was  presented  to  the  Assembly  of  1826,  and 
was  received  w^ith  general  favor.  Although  there  were 
some  who  were  very  decidedly  opposed  to  it,  and  the 


35G  HISTORY  OF  presbyterianism. 

members  of  the  Assembl}^  and  the  Church  generally 
were  far  from  unanimous  in  their  approval  of  the  pro- 
ject, it  was  enforced  by  weighty  reasons.  The  United 
Foreign  Missionary  Societ}^  was  not  under  the  As- 
sembly's control,  although  largely  sustained  by  its 
churches.  The  American  Board  already  received  a 
large  proportion  of  its  funds  from  within  the  bounds 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  The  society  at  New  York 
was  consequently  crippled  for  the  want  of  means,  and 
the  magnitude  of  the  foreign  missionary  work  was  not 
yet  such  as  to  require  two  distinct  organizations  for 
denominations  so  kindred  in  doctrine  and  effort  as  the 
Congregationalists  of  New  England  and  the  supporters 
of  the  society  at  New  York.  The  result  was  the  con- 
sent of  the  Assembly  to  the  amalgamation  of  the  two 
societies,  and  its  recommendation  of  the  Board  to  the 
favorable  notice  and  Christian  supi:)ort  of  the  Church 
and  people  under  their  care. 

Thus  the  tendency  of  things  seemed  to  be  decidedly 
in  favor  of  voluntary  societies  The  jealousy  which 
they  were  destined  to  excite  had  as  3'et  scared}^  begun 
to  be  developed.  In  connection,  moreover,  with  their 
inauguration,  and  unquestionably  due  in  part  to  their 
influence,  a  new  religious  life  seemed  to  pervade  the 
churches  of  the  land.  An  unwonted  activit}^  was  mani- 
fest in  all  quarters,  and,  with  the  single  exception  of 
the  comparative  failure  of  Presbj'tcrian  organizations 
as  such, — although  the  explanation  was  not  difficult, — 
the  future  seemed  full  of  promise. 

Within  the  bounds  of  the  Sj^nod  of  New  York  the 
prospects  of  the  Church  were,  on  the  whole,  cheering. 
In  the  Presbyteries  of  New  York,  Hudson,  and  North 
Kiver  there  were,  in  1827,  powerful  revivals.  In  New 
York  City,  Eutgers  Street,  Cedar  Street,  Laight  Street, 
and  Spring  Street  Churches  were  greatl}"  blessed.  The 
following  3'ear  was  less  marked  in  this  respect;  but  in 


GENERAL    SURVEY,    1S15-1S.;0.  357 

1829  more  than  one  thousand  members,  most!}'  upon  ex- 
amination, were  added  to  the  churches.  In  1830  the 
number  was  not  so  great;  but  in  the  following  years  the 
revival  was  still  more  extensive  and  powerful  than  it 
had  been  at  any  previous  period. 

Within  the  bounds  of  the  Synod  of  Albany,  especially 
in  the  Presbytery  of  Troy,  there  Avere  during  a  portion 
of  this  period  extensive  revivals.  In  many  of  the 
Western  churches,  indeed  in  nearly  all  of  them,  there 
was  a  new  and  xmprecedented  development  of  sj)iritual 
life.  The  journals  of  the  day  spoke  of  revivals  among 
them  by  tens  and  scores.  In  some  cases  there  was 
doubtless  a  zeal  not  alwaj's  according  to  knowledge, 
and  questionable  methods  were  sometimes  employed  in 
conducting  the  meetings ;  but  for  several  successive 
years  the  work  of  grace  among  the  churches  of  Western 
New  York  was  characterized  by  great  power,  and  the 
number  added  to  their  communion  was  unprecedented 
in  their  previous  history.  In  the  larger  towns  and 
cities,  as  well  as  in  the  villages,  there  was  a  prevalent 
religious  tone  of  feeling,  Avhich  powerfully  modified  the 
character  of  the  entire  community. 

Of  more  than  one  hundred  churches  under  the  care 
of  the  Synod  of  New  Jersey  in  1828,  only  four  reported 
revivals  among  them.  But  in  the  following  Avinter 
among  many  of  them  the  Spirit  of  God  was  manifestly 
at  work.  Fourteen  congregations  in  East  Jersey  were 
visited  by  seasons  of  refreshing  At  Morristown,  Pater- 
son,  and  Mendham  the  work  was  especially  powerful. 

In  Pennsylvania  there  were  revivals  (during  the 
period  of  1827-30)  in  a  large  number  of  jilaces,  although 
less  marked  than  in  some  other  portions  of  the  Church. 
In  Philadelphia,  the  congregations  of  Messrs.  Hoover 
and  Patterson  were  specially  favored.^     During  a  part 

1  In  1831-32,  two  hundred  were  added  on  examination  to  llie 
church  under  the  care  of  Dr.  T.  H.  Skinner. 


358  HISTORY    OF    TRESBYTERIANISM. 

of  the  time  Mr.  Finne}^  labored  with  them;  and  during 
the  few  years  which  had  elapsed  since  the  church  of 
which  Eev.  James  Patterson  Avas  pastor  had  been 
ortranized,  twelve  hundred  members  had  been  received 
to  its  communion.  At  Mercer,  York,  Milford,  and 
several  places  within  the  bounds  of  the  Synod  of  Pitts- 
burg there  were  seasons  of  spiritual  refreshing. 

Eevivals  occurred  in  Ohio  at  numerous  places.  In 
1827  there  were  extensive  awakenings  at  Lebanon, 
Canaan,  Poi-tage,  &c. ;  but  at  the  close  of  the  year  a  re- 
markable work  of  grace  commenced  in  the  First  Pres- 
byterian Church  at  Cincinnati.  The  pastor.  Dr.  Wilson, 
Lad  visited,  a  short  time  jjrevious,  the  scenes  of  the  Ken- 
tucky revival.  Here,  at  the  close  of  a  communion-sea- 
son at  New  Providence,  he  heax*d  Kev.  Joseph  C.  Barnes' 
read  a  number  of  appointments  for  the  Eev.  James  Gal- 
iaher  and  Eev.  Frederick  Eoss,  who  had  itinerated  ex- 
tensively as  evangelists  throughout  the  State.  Im- 
pressed with  the  desirableness  of  their  labors  in  his 
own  region,  he  besought  them  to  visit  Cincinnati. 
They  complied  with  the  invitation;  and  almost  imme- 
diately a  work  of  grace  commenced.  It  continued 
with  great  power  for  several  months.  Dr.  Wilson  him- 
self pronounced  Messrs.  Gallaher  and  Eoss  "  most  ad- 
mirably qualified"  for  their  work.  Within  the  year  re- 
vivals were  enjoyed  in  ten  of  the  neighboring  churches, 
— among  them,  those  of  Pleasant  Eidge,  Springfield, 
Eeading,  and  Hopewell ;  and  the  number  added  to  the 
First  Church  in  Cincinnati  on  examination  amounted 
to  three  hundred  and  sixty-four. 

In  the  more  central  parts  of  the  State  revivals  ex- 
tensively prevailed.  At  Granville,  Burlington,  Ben- 
nington, Hartford,  Jersey,  McKane,  St.  Albans,  Berlin, 
Berkshire,  Harrison,  Worthington,  Zoar,  Hillborough, 

1  New  York  Observer:  account  of  the  revival. 


GENERAL    SURVEY,    1S25-1S30.  359 

franklin,  and  other  places,  there  "were  powerful  awaken- 
in<rs.  At  Burlin«;ton  and  Bennino;ton  churches  were 
formed.  At  Orranville  thirty-six  families  for  the  first 
time  '•  set  up  the  family  altar."  At  Claridon,  Ilamden, 
Huntsburg,  and  Burton,  to  the  northeast,  there  were 
also  revivals  of  great  power.  In  Delaware  county  this 
was  likewise  the  case.  In  Berlin,  Kingston,  Berkshire, 
Sunbury,  Genoa,  and  Orange,  not  less  than  three  hun- 
dred were  numbered  among  the  converts.  In  Canaan, 
Marion  county,  Mifflin,  Franklin  county,  Gallipolis,  and 
quite  a  number  of  the  smaller  churches,  revivals  were 
reported  as  in  pi'ogress. 

In  1830,  several  Presbyterian  camp-meetings  were 
held  in  Ohio,  the  first  at  the  time  and  place  of  meet- 
ing of  the  Cincinnati  Presbytery  near  AVilliamsburg. 
Others  soon  followed,  at  Sharon  and  Montgomery. 
They  were  regarded  as  most  successful,  and  were  fa- 
vored by  the  presence  of  Mr.  Gallaher,  who  had  been 
blessed  in  his  labors  in  similar  scenes  in  Kentucky  and 
Tennessee.  Some  questionable  methods  were  pursued, 
which  were  afterward  brought  to  the  attention  of  the 
General  Assembly.  Individuals  who  were  led  to  enter- 
tain hope  during  the  progress  of  the  meetings  were 
received  to  communion  on  examination  before  their 
close.  But  the  meetings  themselves  were  conducted 
with  great  decorum  ;  and  among  the  prominent  con- 
ductors or  speakers  present  were  Drs.  Wilson  and  ]\Ior- 
rison,  of  Cincinnati.  The  revival  in  this  city,  Avhere 
they  labored,  still  continued  to  progress.  More  than 
two  hundred  were  received  during  the  year  by  the 
Third  Church,  which  had  but  recently  been  organized. 

In  this  period  of  general  revival  even  the  feeble  con- 
gregations of  Indiana  and  Illinois  were  not  left  un- 
visited.  In  the  course  of  the  summer  of  1828  sixty- 
two  were  added  to  the  church  at  Yiucennes.  Quite  a 
number  of  the  churches  were  refreshed;  but  amid  the 


300  IIISTURY    UI'    niESBYTKllIANISM. 

scattered  population  and  among  the  feeble  churches, 
although  the  advance  might  be  proportionally  greater 
than  in  other  parts  of  the  country,  it  was  yet  almost 
imperceptible,  so  far  as  any  report  of  revivals  was  con- 
cerned. 

This  was  the  case  also,  to  a  great  extent,  with  Illinois. 
Several  of  the  churches  were  highly  favored,  but  the 
united  membership  of  all  within  the  State  was  but 
about  the  same  with  that  of  a  single  church  in  Cincin- 
nati. At  Salem  a  revival  commenced  under  the  labors 
of  B.  C.  Ci'essy.  At  Golconda,  Carmi,  and  Sharon  there 
were  numerous  conversions. 

Michigan  at  this  period  had  scarcely  begun  to  be 
settled.  Yet  even  here,  in  villages  just  springing  up 
in  the  wilderness,  there  were  not  wanting  signs  of 
spiritual  progress.  In  1880  there  were  blessed  seasons 
of  revival  in  several  localities,  especially  in  Ypsilanti 
and  Dexter. 

In  Missouri  there  were  revivals  in  Cooper's  county, 
and  to  the  church  at  New  Lebanon,  and  one  contigixous, 
forty  members  were  added;  while  several  other  con- 
gregations had  been  refreshed. 

During  this  period  Kentucky  was  especially  favored 
with  revivals.  A  work  of  grace  commenced,  in  con- 
nection Mnth  the  temporary  labors  of  Gideon  Black- 
burn, at  Danville,  earl}^  in  1828.  At  Springfield,  Ilar- 
rodsburg,  Nicholasville,  Lexington,  Mt.  Pleasant,  Pis- 
gab,  New  Providence,  Flcmingsburg,  and  several  other 
places,  revivals  had  commenced  several  months  before, 
and  during  the  following  winter  and  spring  they  became 
more  extensive.  A  correspondent  at  Paris,  where  one 
hundred  members  had  just  been  added  to  the  Presby- 
terian Church,  said, — doubtless  with  some  exaggeration, 
— "  This  place,  and  indeed  the  whole  State,  for  the  last 
two  or  three  months  has  been  a  scene  of  the  most 
astonishing  revivals  of  religion  ever  witnessed  in  this 


GENERAL    SURVEY,    1825-1830.  361 

country."  At  Lexington  it  was  estimated  that  there 
Avei-e  at  least  one  thousand  hopetul  converts.  The 
"whole  aspect  of  society  was  changed.  Vices  before 
prevalent  and  unblushing  almost  entirely  disappeared. 
At  Danville  the  revival  continued  to  progi'css  with  re- 
markable power.  Within  the  course  of  four  months 
antecedent  to  May,  1828,  the  churclies  of  Ebenezer 
Presbytery  were  strengthened  by  the  accession  of 
nearly  tive  hundred  members  on  profession  of  their 
faitli.  Some  of  the  other  Presbj'teries  were  equally, 
if  not  more  highly,  favored. 

The  work  continued  with  great  power  at  Louisville 
and  Danville.  In  1830  it  was  felt  in  Greenup  county. 
Places  which  had  not  been  visited  before  were  visited 
now.  The  labors  of  Messrs.  Iioss  and  Gallaher  were 
attended  with  large  and  blessed  results.  They  went 
from  place  to  place  as  evangelists;  and  in  almost  every 
region  which  they  visited  there  were  signal  manifesta- 
tions of  divine  grace. 

The  work  had  commenced  in  Tennessee  somewhat 
earlier  than  in  Kentuck}-.  In  1827  the  Synod  of  West 
Tennessee  remarked,  in  their  Narrative,  "JSTever  before 
has  tliere  been  in  the  same  length  of  time  so  much  at- 
tention to  the  means  of  grace,  or  so  many  additions  to 
the  Church,  as  during  the  last  year."  Before  the  close 
of  1828,  the  revival,  in  promoting  wdiich  the  labors  of 
Messrs.  Poss  and  Gallaher  were  eminent,  had  extended 
far  and  wide.  Within  the  region  embracing  Murfrees- 
borough  and  its  vicinity,  more  than  six  hundred,  in  the 
course  of  a  few  weeks,  professed  conversion.  East  Ten- 
nessee shared  also  largely  in  the  revival. 

In  Mississippi,  Louisiana,  and  Alabama  the  churches 
were  few  and  feeble.  Yet  some  among  them  expe- 
rienced the  blessings  of  revival.  At  Greensborough  in 
Alabama  the  Avork  was  powei'ful,  and  in  other  places 
was  largely  felt. 

Yor,.  II.— 31 


362  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

In  Georgia  there  was  an  almost  unprecedented  dis- 
play of  divine  grace  throughout  this  period.  Tlie 
lahorers  were  few,  but  they  were  earnest  and  devoted 
to  their  work. 

The  college  at  Athens — in  which  it  is  not  known  that 
there  had  ever  been  a  pious  student  prior  to  1822,  but 
which  in  tliatj^ear  had  seven  wdio  commenced  Sabbath- 
schools  and  meetings  for  prayer,  most  of  them  after- 
ward entering  the  ministry — was  visited  by  a  revival 
in  1827.  From  other  portions  of  the  State  there  were 
cheering  reports.  When  the  Presbyterj'  met  at  Deca- 
tur, at  least  two  thousand  persons  were  in  attendance, 
and  large  numbers  were  deeply  impressed.  Presby- 
terian camp-meetings  were  repeatedly  held,  and  many 
of  the  chnrcbes  received  large  accessions.  Twenty 
were  added  at  one  time  to  tbe  church  in  Butts  county, 
thirty  to  the  one  in  Ci'awford,  and  equal  or  larger 
numbers  to  other  cburches.  A  writer,  dating  from 
Ivnoxvillc,  Ga.,  April  1,  1828,  says,  "Such  attention  to 
religion  among  the  people  has  not  been  known  or 
recorded  since  the  day  of  Pentecost.  I  hear  daily  of 
hundreds  being  added  to  the  churches  and  of  thousands 
inquiring  for  the  bread  of  life."  In  Jul}-,  at  a  single 
season  of  communion,  fifty-eight  were  received  by  the 
church  of  Hebron,  Green  county,  and  the  work  Avas 
still  in  progress.  In  September,  Hopewell  Presbj^tery 
met  at  McDonough,  Henry  county,  and  nearly  two 
thousand  were  present  at  the  communion. 

In  1825  the  Presbytery  had  formed  a  domestic  mis- 
sionary society,  and  secured  the  services  of  as  many 
missionaries  as  they  could  obtain  in  their  field  of  labor. 
The  results  were  most  cheering.  Quite  a  number  of 
new  churches  were  organized,  and  the  missionary  spirit 
received  a  new  and  powerful  imjjulse.* 


1  The  same  year  an  education  society  was  formed  within  the  Pres- 


GENERAL    SURVEY,    1825-1830.  363 

South  Carolina  shared  with  Georgia  the  divine  bless- 
ing. Early  in  182G  a  revival  commenced  at  Augusta. 
It  extended,  through  the  labors  of  those  engaged  in  it, 
to  Beach  Lsland,  where  shortly  afterward  a  Presbyterian 
church  was  organized,  of  thirt}'  or  forty  members.  In 
Anderson  district  in  1828  there  was  a  powerful  revival. 
At  Brewington  a  camp-meeting  was  held,  which  was 
regarded  as  a  scene  of  thrilling  interest.  Yet  there 
was  no  de])arture  from  the  strictest  decorum.  For 
more  than  two  years  previous  the  churches  in  the 
region  had  enjoyed  seasons  of  refreshing.  In  1829  a 
four-days  meeting  was  held  at  Varennes,  and  forty  or 
fifty  tents  were  pitched  upon  the  ground.  This  was 
the  case  also  in  York  district  at  the  same  time,  and  at 
each  place  from  twenty  to  thirty  were  received  to  the 
commimion.  Similar  scenes  occurred  at  Bullock's  Creek 
Church, Westminster  Church,  Fairview,  andotherplaces. 
For  two  years  revivals  prevailed  extensively  throughout 
the  bounds  of  the  Synod  which  embraced  South  Carolina 
and  Georgia.  The  churches  received  new  accessions  of 
strength  and  gave  evidence  of  unexampled  prosperity. 
In  by  far  the  greater  portion  of  them  the  special  in- 
fluences of  the  Spirit  had  been  enjoyed,  and  the  Synod 
were  able  to  say  that,  so  far  as  their  knowledge  ex- 
tended, there  was  not  a  single  church  in  its  connection 
which  was  in  a  declining  state. 

\Vhile  other  portions  of  the  country  were  favored  to 
a  remarkable  extent,  Xorth  Carolina  remained  still  like 
Gideon's  fleece  amid  the  surrounding  dews.  This  Avas 
the  case,  however,  only  till  1828.  The  Synod  in  that 
year  was  enalded  to  report  an  accession  of  four  hundred 
to  the  mcml^ership  of  the  churches,  as  well  as  an  increase 
in  the  number  of  preachers.    One  hundred  and  nineteen 

bytery  on  the  same  principles  -willi  the  American  Society,  but  in  the 
following  year  it  became  a  Presbyterian  education  society, 


864  HISTORY    OF    PRESEYTERIANISM. 

new  members  were  added  to  the  ehurcli  under  Mr.  Kerr 
at  Little  Britain;  while  a  revival  had  also  commenced 
at  Morgantown,  and  the  first  signs  of  awakening  were 
manifest  at  Fayctteville,  where  a  work  of  marked  power 
Boon  afterward  commenced. 

Virginia,  with  her  vast  destitutions,  and  several  of  her 
churches  without  pastors  and  in  a  declining  state,  was 
highl}'  favored.  In  1827  a  powerful  revival  of  religioii, 
commencing  at  Portsmouth,  extended  to  Norfolk,  Wil- 
liamsburg, .Suffolk,  and  Gosport.  The  church  at  Eich- 
mond  under  William  J.  Armstrong  enjoj'ed  a  season  of 
refreshing.  In  the  following  year  the  church  at  Alex- 
andria received  large  accessions  as  the  result  of  a  quiet 
but  powerful  work  of  grace.  In  the  bounds  of  Hanover 
Presbytery  the  indications  of  the  special  presence  of 
the  Spirit  were  manifest  in  quite  a  nunlber  of  the  con- 
gregations. From  Alexandria  the  revival  extended  to 
Washington,  and  quite  a  number  were  added  to  the 
Church.  In  the  early  part  of  1828,  Mr.  Nettleton,  at 
the  urgent  request  of  Dr.  Rice,  visited  Prince  Edward 
county,  and  in  a  short  time,  in  connection  with  his  labors, 
a  most  interesting  revival  commenced,  which  extended 
to  the  surrounding  congregations,  and  the  influence  of 
which  was  felt  far  and  near  throughout  the  State. 

Of  some  of  the  proceedings  of  the  General  Assembly 
during  this  period,  notice  may  be  taken  more  appro- 
priately hereafter.  In  1826  the  ratio  of  representation 
in  the  General  Assembly  was  so  modified  that  each 
Presbytery  of  less  than  twelve  ministers  should  be 
entitled  to  send  one  minister  and  one  elder  as  delegates; 
if  over  twelve,  two  ministers  and  two  elders,  who  were 
to  be  styled  commissioners.  The  Colonization  Society 
also  was  commended  to  the  patronage  of  the  churches, 
and  the  first  Sabbath  in  July  was  designated  as  the  day 
for  collections  in  its  behalf  In  1827  the  practice  which 
allowed  commissioners  to  the  Assembly  to  hold  their 


GENERAL    SURVEY,    1825-1S30.  365 

seats  for  a  time  and  then  resign  them  to  their  alternates 
Avas  disapproved,  and  it  was  resolved  that  it  be  discon- 
tinued. The  subject  of  intemperance  received  appro- 
priate notice,  and  the  object  of  the  American  8oc)ety 
for  its  suppression  was  approved. 

In  1828  the  constitution  of  the  General  Union  to  pro- 
mote the  observance  of  the  Christian  Sabbath  was  laid 
before  the  Assembly  and  "  highly  approved,"  while  the 
duty  of  discipline  in  cases  of  the  violation  of  the  day  was 
enjoined  upon  Presbytei'ies  and  churches.  In  1829  the 
American  Peace  Society  received  the  sanction  of  the 
Assembly,  and  the  cause  of  seamen  was  commended  to 
the  alfectiou,  charities,  and  prayers  of  all  its  churches. 
In  1830  an  overture  from  the  Presbj'tery  of  Cincinnati 
"for  the  organization  of  a  General  Assembly  in  the 
Western  country"  was  dismissed,  and  the  proposal  of 
a  change  in  the  mode  or  ratio  of  representation  was 
rejected.  The  subject  of  lotteries  was  also  taken  up, 
and  it  was  decided  that  they  must  be  viewed  in  no 
other  light — though  sanctioned  by  legislative  acts — 
than  legalized  gambling.  The  arrangements  for  pro- 
viding a  Psalmody  of  the  Church,  which  had  engaged 
the  attention  of  the  Assembly  annually  during  this 
period,  were  at  length  perfected,  and  measures  were 
taken  for  its  publicatioii. 

The  Presbyteries  erected  from  1826  to  1830  were — 
Chenango,  Detroit,  Ilolston,  and  Trumbull  in  1826, 
Trumbull  in  1827,  Angelica,  Centre  of  Illinois,  and  Tom- 
bigbee  in  1828,  Bedford,  Tioga,  Oxford,  Crawfordsville, 
East  and  West  Hanover,  and  Western  District  in  1829, 
and  New  York  Third,  Blairsville,  Cleveland,  Indian- 
apolis, Illinois,  Kaskaskia,  and  Sangamon  in  1830. 

The  Synods  formed  were — West  Tennessee  and  In- 
diana in  1826,  and  Utica,  Mississippi,  and  Cincinnati  in 
1829. 

The  membership  of  the  Church  had  increased  during 
31* 


866  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

the  period  from  about  one  hundred  and  thirty  thousand 
in  1826  to  about  one  hundred  and  eighty  thousand  at 
the  close  of  1830,  or  at  an  average  of  about  ten  thou- 
sand a  year.  In  1826  the  additions  reported  from  seven 
hundred  and  twenty  congregations  were  nine  thousand 
five  hundred  and  fifty-seven.  In  1827  the  entire  number 
from  all  the  churches  which  made  reports  was  twelve 
thousand  nine  hundred  and  thirty-eight ;  in  1828  they 
amounted  to  fifteen  thousand  and  ninety -five;  in  1829 
they  were  fourteen  thousand  eight  hundred  and  forty- 
six;  in  1830  the  number  was  but  eleven  thousand  seven 
hundred  and  forty-eight. 


CHAPTEE   XXXYII. 

THE     MISSION -FIELD     AT     THE     SOUTH     AND     SOUTHWEST. 

1810-1830. 

The  domestic  mission-field  of  the  American  Presby- 
terian Church  embraced,  in  rapid  succession,  during 
the  first  quarter  of  the  present  century,  New  York, 
Tennessee  and  Kentucky,  the  Carolinas  and  Georgia, 
Ohio,  Indiana,  Missouri,  Mississippi  Territory,  Illinois, 
and  Michigan.  Of  these  several  portions  of  the  field, 
New  York,  Ohio,  Tennessee,  Kentvicky,  and  the  Caro- 
linas have  already  been  surveyed.  Without  following 
out  the  history  of  each  of  the  others  with  the  same 
distinctness,  a  general  review  may  be  taken  of  the 
efforts  that  were  designed  to  bear  upon  them  all.^ 

1  In  1818,  Indiana,  Mississippi,  and  Louisiana,  with  the  Territoriea 
of  Alabama,  Illinois,  Michigan,  and  Missouri,  contained  a  population 
of  three  hundred  and  fifty  thousand,  with  not  more  than  seventeen 
competent  or  stated  ministers, — or  but  one  to  twenty  thousand.    Mo- 


MISSIONS    IN    MISSISSIPPI,  1810-1830.  367 

In  1804  tho  Synod  of  Carolina  directed  the  Presb}'- 
teiy  of  Orange  to  ordain  James  8m3iie,  who  had  been 
hiboring  at  Natchez  in  the  Louisiana  Territory,  with  a 
view  to  his  returning  thither  to  engage  in  missionary 
hibor.  This  region  of  the  Southwest,  rapidly  filling  up 
after  the  Louisiana  purchase,  was  for  the  most  pai't 
under  the  supervision  of  the  Synods  of  Virginia  and 
Carolina. 

The  way  had  been  prepared  for  the  labors  of  Mr. 
Smjdie  by  that  veteran  in  the  cause  of  Presbyterianisni 
at  the  South,  Eev.  James  Hall,  of  North  Carolina.  In 
the  autumn  of  1800,  under  a  commission  of  the  General 
Assembly,  he  commenced  a  mission  to  Natchez.  Two 
other  brethren  whom  the  Synod  appointed  accompanied 
him.  This  was  the  first  in  the  series  of  Protestant  mis- 
sionary efforts  in  the  lower  vallej-  of  the  Mississippi. 
The  report  of  the  mission  was  made  to  Synod  in  1801, 
and,  as  published  in  the  papers  of  the  day,  excited  a 
very  general  interest  throughout  the  Southern  country. 
The  Presbytery  of  West  Tennessee,  erected  in  1810,  had 
this  field  under  its  care;  but  it  was  not  till  1815  that, 
by  a  division  of  it,  the  Presbytery  of  Mississippi  was 
formed. 

In  1817  this  body  consisted  of  five  ministers  and  had 
under  its  care  eight  congregations.  At  the  head  of  its 
Hst  stood  the  name  of  the  venerable  Joseph  Bullen, 
verging  upon  his  threescore  years  and  ten,  a  pioneer 
in  the  cause  of  Indian  missions.  Soon  after  the  form- 
ation of  the  New  York  Missionary  Society,  it  was 
determined  to  attempt  the  establishment  of  a  mission 
among  the  Chickasaws  of  "  West  Georgia,"  and  Mr. 
Bullen  was  selected  as  the  man  to  conduct  it.     He  was 

bile,  Blakely,  Fort  Claibourne,  Huntsville,  Madisonville,  Baton 
Kouge,  aud  Natchez  Lad  no  Christian  ministers  of  any  kind.— 
Christian  Herald,  v.  614. 


368  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

a  native  of  Vermont,  and  bad  already  reached  liis  forty- 
seventh  year  when  he  commenced  the  undertaking.  At 
New  York  he  received  his  puhhc  charge  from  the  vene- 
rable Dr.  Rodgers,  and  set  out  March  26,  1799,  on  his 
journey  to  the  Southwest.^  He  was  accompanied  by 
his  sou,  a  youth  of  seventeen  years,  who  it  was  thought 
might  render  important  aid  in  acquiring  the  language 
and  giving  instruction  as  a  teacher  of  Indian  children. 
His  route  led  him  thi'ough  Philadelphia,  where  he 
received  the  friendly  attentions  not  only  of  Dr.  Green, 
but  of  Mr.  Pickering,  Secretary  of  State,  and  other  dis- 
tino-uished  persons.  Thence  he  proceeded  westward, 
by  way  of  Lexington,  Ya.,  to  Knoxvillc  and  iSTashville, 
Tennessee.  Here  lie  was  two  hundred  and  seventy 
miles  distant  from  his  point  of  destination,  and  his 
friends  urged  him  to  delay  his  journey  for  several  weeks, 
in  order  to  secure  company.  Such  were  the  dangers  of 
the  way  that  it  was  cpiite  unadvisable  to  attempt  the 
journey  without  guides.  But  the  zeal  of  the  missionary 
would  not  allow  him  to  pause.  He  had  already  had 
experience  of  hardship,  exposure  to  storms,  and  perils 
from  swollen  streams,  sometimes  crossing  "waters 
almost  to  the  horse's  back."  Unappalled  by  the  re- 
presentations made  to  him,  he  resolved  to  press  on. 
"  Trusting  in  divine  goodness  to  direct"  their  way,  the 
travellers  set  out  for  the  Indian  country.  Their  horses 
were  encumbered  with  baggage,  and  their  movements 
were  slow.  But,  provided  with  food,  blankets,  au  axe, 
and  a  gun,  they  made  such  progress  as  they  were  able. 
Their  lonesome  way  was  occasionally  cheered  by  meet- 
ino-  traders  from  Natchez  and  New  Orleans,  returning 
to  Kentucky.  Sometimes  they  were  impeded  by  the 
rains  and  the  swollen  streams.  The  waters  of  the  Ten- 
nessee were  high,  and  places  of  entertainment  were  few 


1  New  York  Missionary  Magazine,  i.  262. 


MISSIONS   IN    MISSISSIPPI,  1810^1830.  369 

and  far  between.  The  food  which  they  could  procure 
Avas  not  of  the  best  kind, — sometimies  liominy  or  damaged 
meal.  A  bed  of  bear-skin  was  a  luxury  for  the  night's 
lodging. 

At  length  Mr.  BuUen  reached  his  destination,  worn, 
Avearj',  and  almost  an  invalid.  The  Chickasaws  he 
found  ''  without  any  kind  of  religious  observance,  and 
without  temple  and  priest,"  except  that  a  few  of  their 
enchanters  had  images,  the  use  of  which  was  little  un- 
derstood among  the  people.  lie  preached  and  conversed 
as  he  had  opportunity,  witnessed  tlieir  frolics  and  their 
"  m^'steries,"  their  '•  singing,  yelling,  and  running," 
gained  their  confidence,  and,  with  alternate  experience 
of  encouragement  and  disappointment,  prosecuted  his 
work.  From  one  town  he  journej'ed  to  another,  dis- 
tributing his  labors  among  Indians  and  whites,  and 
coming  in  frequent  contact  with  the  hundreds  of  traders 
who,  after  their  trip  down  the  Mississippi,  returned  by 
land  to  their  homes.  His  greatest  success  was  among 
the  slaves,  five  of  whom  he  baptized  on  one  occasion. 
Daunted  by  no  difficulties  or  hardships,  wet,  hungry, 
shelteidess  oftentimes,  he  labored  at  all  seasons  to  pro- 
secute the  missionary  work  in  which  all  the  sympathies 
of  his  soul  were  enlisted. 

Worn  out  with  labors,  he  returned  to  the  North  in 
the  fall  of  1800.  On  his  way  lie  stopped  at  Maryville, 
where  Gideon  Blackburn  ministered  to  a  church  of  over 
three  hundred  communicants.  The  two  men,  kindred 
in  missionary  zeal  and  devotion,  conferred  together; 
and,  though  we  have  no  record  of  the  themes  upon 
Avhich  they  conversed,  we  can  scarcely  doubt,  from  our 
knowledge  of  the  men,  that  the  subject  nearest  to  Mr. 
Bullen's  heart  claimed  their  attention.  This,  at  least, 
we  know,  that  within  a  few  months  of  that  meeting 
Mr.  Blackburn  threw  his  whole  soul  into  the  work  of 
Indian  missions,  and  pleaded  their  cause  with  a  glow- 


370  HISTORY    or   PRESBYTERIANISM. 

ing  eloquence  in  the  Eastern  cities,  both  North  and 
South. 

Mr.  Bullen  soon  returned  to  his  field  of  labor,  accom- 
panied by  his  family,  resolved  thenceforth  to  make  his 
home  in  the  Southwest.  Deacon  Eice,  who  was  em- 
ployed as  his  assistant,  proved  unacceptable  to  the  In- 
dians, who  forced  him  to  leave  the  country.  But  Mr. 
Bullen  remained;  and  ere  long  we  find  him  disconnected 
with  the  Indian  mission,  and  one  of  the  original  mem- 
bers of  the  Presbytery  of  Mississippi, — indeed,  the  pa- 
triarch of  the  body. 

William  Montgomery  took  charge  of  the  Scotch  con- 
ffreirations  of  Ebenezer  and  Salem  in  1808-09.     A  fine 
scholar,^  a  well-read  theologian,  a  fluent,  animated,  and 
effective  speaker,  he   would  have   taken  a  high   rank 
among  the  preachers  in   the  Eastern  cities.     To  the 
close  of  life   he  retained   his  early  taste  for  classical 
studies,  and  many  of  the  odes  of  his  favorite  Latin 
author,  Ms  friend  Horace,  he  could  repeat  from  memory. 
Without  looking  into  the  book,  he  could  hear  a  recita- 
•  tion  from  Yirgil.    The  friend  of  sound  learning,  a  punc- 
tual attendant  of  school-examinations,  a  fast  friend  of 
Oakland  College  after  it  was  established,  the  cause  of 
sound  education  in  the  Southwest  is  deeply  indebted  to 
him.    But  theological  investigation  was  his  chosen  pur- 
suit; and  in  his  old  age  few  things  delighted  him  so 
much  as  choice  books  on  systematic  divinity.     On  the 
o-reat  doctrines  of  grace  he  loved  to  dwell.     In  his  last 
illness  he  declared — and  it  was  one  of  the  last  remarks 
which  his  failing  speech  permitted  bim  to  utter — that 
these  doctrines,  which  he  had  delighted  to  preach,  then 
loomed  up  before  his  mind  with  greater  brilliancy  and 
power  than  ever. 

In  the  pulpit  he  was  a  ready  and  earnest  speaker. 


iThe  True  'Witness,  Marcli  31,  1800. 


I 


MISSIONS    IN    AIISSISSIPPI,  1S10-1S30.  871 

lie  never  wrote  his  sermons  or  made  use  of  notes,  but 
his  discourses  were  prepared  by  careful  stud}',  arran^-ing 
not  oidy  the  lieuds  and  tlioughts,  but  the  language  also. 
In  his  younger  days  his  voice  was  unusually  musical, 
and  his  enunciation  clear  and  distinct.  His  animation 
he  never  lost.  Ilis  sincerity  was  manifest  in  tone,  look, 
and  gesture.  ITis  method  was  expository  and  argu- 
mentative, rarely  hortator}',  and  his  sermons  were  in- 
structive and  edifying.  In  his  best  days  he  enjoyed  a 
high  popularit}",  and  crowds  flocked  to  his  ministry. 
His  deportment  was  marked  with  the  unaffected  sim- 
plicity of  childhood:  it  was  singularly  free  from  all 
appearance  of  eccentricity,  yet  cheerful  and  sociable, 
while  his  large  fund  of  anecdote  made  him  the  charm 
of  every  circle,  and  his  genial  laugh  communicated  its 
own  delight. 

No  man  gave  clearer  evidence  of  single-minded  de- 
votion to  the  work  of  the  ministry.  The  highest  salary 
he  ever  received  was  about  three  hundred  dollars.  Yet, 
while  receiving  but  one  hundred  dollars  at  Union  for 
half  his  time,  he  declined  a  call  to  Pine  Ridge  for  eight 
hundred  dollars  for  the  same  amount  of  service.  Still 
he  Avas  a  poor  man,  and  at  some  periods  in  great  straits 
for  the  support  of  his  family.  His  attachment  to  his 
own  people  was  strong,  and  his  sense  of  dut}^  was 
stronger  than  his  desire  even  for  a  comj^etence. 

For  forty  years  Mr.  Montgomery  was  spared, — the 
venerated  pastor  of  the  two  churches  of  Ebenezer  and 
Union.  He  was  the  first  permanent  missionary  from 
the  Carolinas  to  the  Territory  of  Mississi2:)pi.  The 
original  log  church  in  which  he  first  preached  the 
gospel  in  the  wilderness  has  long  since  vanished;  but 
his  name  will  be  ever  memorable  as  that  of  one  of  the 
fathers  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  Southwest, 
and  the  apostle  of  a  pure  and  primitive  Christianity. 

But  already  James  Smylie,  missionary  of  the  Sj^nod 


372  HISTORY    OF    PRESEYTERIANISM, 

of  the  Carolinas,  had  entered  the  field.  At  a  later 
period  he  was  followed  by  Jacob  Rickhow/  who  settled 
at  Bayou  Pierre,  while  Mr.  Smylie,  after  his  itinerations, 
located  at  Bethany  and  Amity.  These,  together  with 
Mr.  Montgomery,  were  members  of  the  West  Tennes- 
see Presbytery  previous  to  the  erection  of  the  Presby- 
tery of  Mississippi.  At  their  instance,  the  Presbytery 
of  West  Tennessee  petitioned  the  Synod  of  Kentucky 
at  their  session  in  Danville,  Oct.  6,  1815,  that  a  new 
Presbj'tery  might  be  formed,  having  for  its  boundary 
eastwardly  the  Perdido  Eiver,  thence  a  direct  line  to 
Fort  Jackson  at  the  junction  of  the  Coosa  and  Talla- 
poosa Rivers,  thence  to  the  line  of  division  between  the 
Choctaw  and  Chickasaw  Indians,  and  along  that  line 
indefinitely,  forming  a  division  between  the  contem- 
plated Presbytery  and  the  Presbytery  of  West  Tennes- 
see. Bullen,  Montgomcrj',  Rickhow,  and  Smylie  were 
to  constitute  the  Presb3tery.  The  petition  was  granted ; 
and  the  first  meeting  of  the  Mississippi  Presbytery  was 


1  "In  1808,  Jacob  Puckbow,  a  nntive  of  Staten  Island,  arrived  at 
Natchez,  and  in  the  fall  of  that  year  preached  for  a  short  time  in 
the  structure  belonging  to  the  Methodists.  In  the  absence  of  a 
preacher,  many  of  the  Presbyterian  families  were  accustomed  to 
worship  at  Pine  Ridge  Church,  eight  miles  north  of  Natchez.  In 
1810  a  subscription  was  opened  with  a  view  to  secure  means  to 
erect  a  house  of  worship.  Although  it  was  not  dedicated  till  Feb- 
ruary, 1815,  a  congregation  was  collected  in  1811,  and  Mr.  Mont- 
gomery, of  Pine  Ridge,  supplied  them  a  part  of  the  time.  Daniel 
Smith  began  his  labors  here  April  1,  1816,  and  continued  as  supply 
till  1819,  when  he  left  for  lack  of  support.  The  church,  mean- 
while, had  been  organized  (^1817),  with  eight  members.  In  jNIay, 
1820,  William  Weir  accepted  a  call  to  the  pastorate;  but  his  death 
occurred  in  November,  1822.  In  May  of  the  following  year,  George 
Potts  commenced  his  labors  here.  In  June  he  was  called,  and  in 
December  installed.  His  pastorate  closed  in  1836,  and  in  1837  he 
was  succeeded  by  Samuel  G.  Winchester." — Fres.  Maj.,  April,  1852, 
p.  177. 


MISSIONS    IN    MISSISSIPPI,  1810-1830.  373 

held,  according  to  appointment,  at  Pine  Eidge  Church, 
March  16,  1816. 

In  the  preceding  3'ear  the  General  Assembly  author- 
ized the  Committee  of  Missions  to  appoint  a  missionary 
to  Natchez — if  the  funds  should  prove  sufficient — for  the 
space  of  six  months.'  The  missionary  appointed  was 
Daniel  Smith,''  who,  after  laboring  for  some  months, 
succeeded,  in  1817,  in  forming  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  in  that  place.  He  had  already  commenced  his 
labors  when  the  Mississippi  Presbytery  held  its  first 
meeting,  and  was  present  as  a  corresponding  member.' 
He  subsequentlj^  united  with  the  body,  although  he  did 
not  long  continue  in  the  field.* 

The  oldest  church  under  the  care  of  the  Presb^^tery 
was  that  of  Bethel,  organized  b}^  Mr.  Bullen  in  1804. 
Union  Church  was  organized  by  him  in  1811 ;  and  in 
the  same  year  Ebenezer  Church  was  organized  by  Mr. 
Rickhow.  Salem,  or  Pine  Ridge,  Church  was  organized 
by  Mr.  Smylie  in  1807.  Amity,  Bethany,  and  Florida 
Churches — the  last  subsequently  removed  to  Jackson, 
La. — were  also  probably  organized  by  Mr.  Smylie. 

The  visit  of  Messrs.  Samuel  J.  Mills  and  Schermer- 
horn  to  this  region  of  the  country  in  1814  gave  a  new 
impulse  to  evangelical  and  missionary  effort.  They 
explored  and  reported  its  destitutions.  Mr.  Schermer- 
Lorn,  during  his  short  stay  at  New  Orleans,  gathered 
a  small  congregation,  who  were  urgent  that  he  should 
remain  and  settle  as  their  pastor.  In  1815,  Daniel 
Smith  left  Natchez  to  visit  the  little  band,  who  were 
still  united  and  earnest  in  desiring  the  privileges  of 
the  gospel.  He  found  them,  without  a  pastor,  sustain- 
ing a  weekly  prayer-meeting,  and  labored  with  them 

1  Minutes  for  1815. 

*  Probably  a  graduate  of  Yale  College  in  1791. 

»  New  Orleans  "True  Witness,"  March  31,  1860. 

*  He  died  about  the  year  1822,  in  Kentucky, 
Vol.  II.— 32 


874  HISTORY    OF   PRESBYTERIANISM. 

for  two  months.  The  Assembly  of  the  same  year  com- 
missioned Ezra  Fisk,  the  well-known  pastor  of  the  Pres- 
byterian church  of  Goshen,  N.Y.,  a  kindred  spirit  and 
intimate  companion  of  Samuel  J.  Mills  and  his  early 
missionary  associates,  to  labor  Avith  this  feeble  band  in 
the  city  of  New  Orleans  for  four  months. 

In  the  following  year  Eiias  Cornelius  was  appointed 
by  the  trustees  of  the  Connecticut  Missionary  Society 
to  a  missionary  tour,  like  that  which  Mills  had  already 
performed,  through  the  Southwestern  States,  and  more 
especially  to  visit  New  Orleans,  which  already-  con- 
tained a  popuhxtion  of  nearly  thirty  thousand  and  but 
a  single  Protestant  minister.^  lie  was  directed  to  ex- 
amine its  moral  condition,  and,  while  preaching  the 
gospel  to  many  who  seldom  heard  it,  to  invite  the 
friends  of  the  Congregational  or  Presbyterian  com- 
munion to  establish  a  church  and  secure  an  able  and 
faithful  pastor.  His  journey  was  a  missionary-route. 
He  preached  one  hundred  and  fifteen  times  on  his  way, 
spending  considerable  time  among  the  Cherokees. 
While  at  Princeton,  N.J.,  arrangements  were  made  by 
which  he  was  to  be  followed  or  assisted  at  New  Orleans 
by  that  eminent  preacher  Sylvester  Larned,  whose 
brilliant  prospects,  after  a  short  career  of  usefulness, 
were  too  suddenly  clouded,  and  who  at  this  time  was 
pursuing  his  theological  studies  at  Princeton. 

Cornelius  did  not  reach  New  Orleans  till  the  last  of 
December,  1816.  Fisk  had  left,  and  he  labored  alone. 
Larned  was  unexpectedly  delayed,  and  pursued  his  jour- 
ney from  Niagara  to  Detroit,  thence  by  land  through 
Ohio  and  a  part  of  Kentucky  to  Louisville,  and  by 
steamboat  to  New  Orleans.  It  was  not  till  the  22d  of 
January,  1818,  after  a  passage  of  thirty-five  days  from 

1  In  1804  the  population  of  New  Orleans  was  eight  thousand  and 
fifty-six.  In  1820  it  had  increased  to  twenty-seven  thousand  one 
hundred  and  sevei\iy-s\x.— Eighty  Years'  Progress,  i.  181. 


MISSIONS   IN    LOUISIANA,  1810-1830.  375 

Kentucky,  that  lie  reached  his  destination.  But  he 
was  received  "by  many  with  open  arms."i  in  "a 
population  of  thirty-four  thousand"  he  found  but  a 
sinn-le  Protestant  (Episcopal)  church.  After  preaching 
three  Sabbaths,  there  seemed  to  be  a  settled  purpose  to 
retain  him  in  the  city.  A  subscription  for  the  erection 
of  a  church-edifice  was  immediately  commenced,  it 
ouickly  reached  the  sum  of  fifteen ,  thousand  dollars, 
und  seemed  to  warrant  a  loan  that  would  secure  the 
forty  thousand  dollars  required.  Larned  was  animated 
to  the  greatest  energy  by  the  field  before  him;  and 
few  could  be  found  better  fitted  for  the  post.  "  ihe 
moral  state  of  things,"  he  says,  -is  terrible,  but  not 
so  bad  as  is  thought  in  the  Northern  States."  His 
heart  was  fully  set  upon  his  work.  Alluding  to  the 
possibility  of  a  call  from  the  Presbyterian  church  of 
Baltimore,  he  declared,  -  Were  I  offered- the  bishopric 
of  creation,  I  would  not  at  this  time  leave  New  Or- 

leans."^  .     ,  . 

Cornelius  remained  in  the  city,  diligent  m  his  mis- 
sionary labors,  until  April,  1818.^  The  two  mission- 
aries labored  heartily  together,  and  the  foundation  of 
a  Presbyterian  church  was  firmly  laid.  There  was  no 
lack  of  liberality  on  the  part  of  the  congregation.  The 
subscriptions  rapidly  advanced  to  an  amount  which 
warranted  the  erection  of  the  contemplated  edifice. 
On  the  8th  of  January,  1819,  the  corner-stone  was  laid. 

Meanwhile,  other  parts  of  the  Mississippi  Valley  were 
visited  by  the  Assembly's  missionaries.  In  1817,  Jere- 
miah Chamberlain,  afterward  President  of  Danville 
College,  but  who  had  just  been  licensed  to  preach  by 

1  Life  of  Lamed. 

2  The  circumstances  of  Larned  and  the  facts  m  regard  t^  the 
effort  to  establish  the  church  are  noted  in  the  Ch^^-stian  Herald  for 
1818,  vol.  V.  p.  228. 

3  Life  of  Cornelius. 


376  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

the  Presbytery  of  Carlisle,  accepted  the  A&sembly's 
commission  to  descend  the  Ohio  to  St.  Louis,  there  joiu 
Larned  on  his  way  to  New  Orleans,  "and  then  visit  the 
destitute  towns  on  the  Mississippi  below  Natchez,  and, 
if  practicable,  visit  the  settlements  on  the  Mobile." 

At  the  same  time,  Larned  was  commissioned  for  six 
months  in  New  Orleans,  and  Eichard  King  for  the  same 
period  in  Mississippi  Territory.  The  latter  was  to  de- 
scend the  Tombigbee  to  Fort  Stoddart,  thence  across 
to  Fort  Jackson,  up  the  Alabama,  and  through  the 
lower  parts  of  Tennessee  and  Kentucky.  In  the  fol- 
lowing year  he  was  followed  by  Robert  Gibson,  com- 
missioned for  four  months. 

The  labors  of  Cornelius  at  New  Orleans,  previous  to 
the  arrival  of  Larned,  were  arduous  and  self-denying. 
His  eye  ranged  over  an  extended  field  of  misery  and 
of  sin.  No  part  of  it  escaped  his  notice.  The  various 
scenes  through  which  he  passed  in  the  discharge  of  his 
duties  were  of  the  most  affecting  kind.  He  supplied 
on  the  Sabbath  the  pulpit  of  the  congregation  who 
were  awaiting  Larned's  arrival,  and  during  the  week 
he  explored  the  sad  field  of  iniquity  and  wretchedness 
around  him.  He  visited  the  hospitals,  directed  atten- 
tion to  the  neglected  condition  of  the  sufferers  there, 
and  through  his  influence  a  great  improvement  was 
visible.  He  boarded  the  vessels  in  the  harbor  and  con- 
versed with  the  sailors.  He  secured  the  cabin  of  a 
ship,  and  made  of  it  a  floating  Bethel.  It  was  filled 
with  sea-captains,  to  whom  he  preached;  and  the  as- 
sembly was  "  attentive,  solemn,  and  affected." 

Nor  was  this  all.  He  was  not  content  merely  to  care 
for  the  inmate  of  the  hospital  or  the  neglected  seaman. 
He  gathered  a  congregation  of  two  hundred  Afincans, 
who  were  powerfully  affected  under  the  preaching  of 
this  devoted  man.  Thus  no  scene  repelled  and  no  dif- 
ficulty disheartened  him.    In  the  wards  of  the  hospital, 


/ 


MISSIONS    IN    LOUISIANA,  1810-1830.  377 

among  the  sick,  in  the  cells  of  the  jails  among  the 
criminals,  in  the  streets  and  lanes  of  the  city,  and  in 
cabin  and  forecastle,  he  labored  with  a  zeal  and  devoted- 
Bess  which  nothing  could  check  or  tire. 

!Nor  should  the  name  of  his  fellow-missionary,  Rev. 
Samuel  Royce, — received  as  a  licentiate  by  the  Presby- 
tery of  3Iississi|3pi, — be  forgotten.  He  was  a  kindred 
spirit  of  Cornelius,  sent  out  like  him  by  the  Connec- 
ticut Society  to  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi.  His 
journey  was  a  missionarj^-route.  He  preached  on  his 
way  to  destitute  congi-egations.  He  crossed  the  Mis- 
sissippi at  Baton  Rouge,  and  thenceforth  occupied 
ground  "  never  trodden  before  by  a  Protestant  min- 
ister," except  by  a  few  who  were  very  illiterate.  Ac- 
cepting an  invitation  to  settle  at  Alexandria,  on  Red 
River,  he  yet  made  the  w^hole  surrounding  region  his 
parisb.  There  was  scarcely  a  brother  minister  within 
a  hundred  miles.  Many  of  his  hearers,  before  his 
arrival,  had  never  heard  a  sermon  except  from  Roman 
Catholic  priests.  Here  infidelity  had  spread  abroad  its 
baneful  influence.  The  evil  was  aggravated  by  the 
fact  that  the  few  who  assumed  the  exercise  of  the 
gospel  ministry  in  tbe  region  were  so  illiterate  as  only 
to  bring  it  into  contempt.  Yet  even  here  pious  persons 
were  now  and  then  to  be  met  with.  As  the  missionary 
fell  in  with  them,  '■  their  countenances  and  tears,  more 
than  words,  expressed  emotions  easier  to  imagine  than 
describe."  "  A  Avoman  brouglit  up  in  ISTew  England, 
when  she  heard  of  the  arrival  of  Mr.  Royce,  sprang 
from  her  seat,  clasped  her  hands,  and  said  she  had  not 
heard  so  good  news  since  she  had  been  in  the  country."^ 

1  A  report  of  a  religious  convention  held  at  Washington,  Miss., 
Nov.  19,  1818,  and  composed  of  members  of  diiferent  denominations, 
is  given  in  the  Christian  Herald,  vol.  v.  p.  655.  It  reveals  the 
necessity  which  all  good  men  felt  for  co-'operative  evangelical 
effort. 

32* 


378  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

Mr.  Royce  found  a  field  which  tasked  all  his  energies. 
He  felt  himself  unequal  to  it,  but  he  engaged  with 
alacrity  in  his  work.  He  extended  his  excursions  on 
all  sides,  visiting  Natchitoches,  eighty  miles  above  Alex- 
andria. The  population  was  a  curious  conglomerate 
of  various  tongues  and  creeds, — Americans,  French, 
Si^aniards,  Indians,  and  negroes, — Roman  Catholics, 
Protestants  of  different  kinds,  deists,  infidels,  and  hea- 
then. In  1819  his  missionary  labors  were  mainly  de- 
voted to  the  counties  of  Jefferson  and  Wilkinson. 

The  founder  of  the  chui-ch  of  Port  Gibson  was  Dr. 
Zebulon  Butler.  A  grandson  of  Colonel  Zebulon  Butler, 
famous  as  the  leader  of  the  little  band  of  patriots  in 
1778  at  the  time  of  the  disastrous  conflict  and  bloody 
massacre  of  "Wyoming  Valley,  he  was  graduated  at 
Nassau  Hall,  and  in  1826,  after  completing  his  theo- 
logical course  at  Princeton,  w^as  commissioned  for  six 
months  by  the  Assembly's  Board  of  Missions  to  labor 
at  the  Southwest.  On  reaching  Yicksburg,  he  met  a 
cordial  reception.  The  people  for  a  year  assumed  his 
entire  support;  and  dui'ing  this  time  he  instituted  a 
prayer-meeting  and  a  Sabbath-school.  On  the  expi- 
ration of  his  engagement,  he  accepted  a  call  to  Port 
Gibson,  where  he  organized  a  church.  Gathering  the 
few  professing  believers  together,  and  visiting  from 
house  to  house,  he  pressed  the  truth  upon  the  attention 
of  an  unevangelized  population.  A  house  of  worship 
was  at  length  erected,  and  a  flourishing  congregation 
was  collected,  to  which,  through  many  trials  and  bodily 
infirmities.  Dr.  Butler  ministered,  with  a  blessing  upon 
bis  labors,  for  nearly  thirty -four  years.  Buoyant  in 
spirit,  generous,  self-denying,  and  genially  social,  he 
became  the  object  of  warm  and  enduring  affection  to  a 
large  circle  who  knew  his  worth.  Through  his  widely- 
extended  influence  he  became  virtually  a  diocesan 
bishop,  establishing  churches  and  confirming  the  dis- 


MISSIONS    IN    LOUISIANA,  lSlO-1830.  379 

ciples  ill  many  localities.  Young  men  preparing  for 
the  ministry  found  in  him  a  steadfast  and  sympathizing 
friend.  The  spiritual  welfare  of  the  slaves  was  an 
object  that  lay  very  near  to  his  heart.  To  his  closing 
days  it  was  a  cherished  desire  to  erect  an  "African 
Presbyterian  church,"  for  which  he  went  so  far  as  to 
purchase  the  site  and  gather  the  materials.  It  was  his 
last  request  to  his  friends  that  the  project  might  be  exe- 
cuted. Earnest,  solemn,  fluent  in  speech  and  fervent 
in  spirit,  overflowing  with  love  to  God  and  man,  he  was 
a  preacher  of  rare  excellence,  and  his  praise  is  in  all  the 
churches  of  the  Southwest.     He  died  Dec.  23,  1860. 

One  of  the  first — if  not  the  first — to  labor  as  pastor 
at  Baton  Rouge,  was  Dr.  John  Dorrance,  a  native  of 
Pennsylvania,  and  a  graduate  of  Nassau  Hall  and 
of  Princeton  Seminary.  On  the  completion  of  his 
studies,  in  1826,  he  was  sent  to  the  South  under  a  com- 
mission from  the  Board  of  Missions,  and  his  field  of 
labor  was  Baton  llouge  and  vicinity.  This  had  been, 
and  still  was,  a  place  of  great  immorality.  Its  popu- 
lation, numbering  about  twelve  hundred,  had  been  col- 
lected from  every  State  of  the  Union  and  every  part 
of  Eurojie.  It  is  not  strange  that  infidelity  should  have 
been  common  and  openly  avowed.  Yet,  in  view  of  the 
temporal  benefits  of  Christian  institutions,  the  people 
invited  the  missionary  to  remain,  and  contributed  to 
his  support.  He  was  ordained  and  installed,  by  the 
Mississippi  Presbytery,  pastor  of  the  church  at  Baton 
Rouge  in  1827;  and  during  a  jjastorate  of  four  years 
his  labors  Avere  eminently  successful. 

Although  the  future  scene  of  his  ministiy  was  in  a 
Northern  State  (Wilkesbarre,  Pa.),  he  left  behind  him 
the  testimony  that  he  had  not  labored  in  vain.  Pos- 
sessed of  rare  intellectual  endowments,  his  mind  was 
not  brilliant,  but  admirably  balanced,  and  capable  of  a 
prodigious  grasp.     If  he  did  not  shine  as  a  student,  he 


380  HISTORY   OF   PRESBYTERIANISM. 

was  wise  and  j^rudent  as  a  man.   He  died  in  the  triumph 
of  a  Christian  faith,  April  18,  1861. 

Although  the  poj)ulation  of  this  entire  region  was 
rapidly  increasing,  yet  the  number  of  Presbyterian 
ministers  in  Mississippi  and  Louisiana  amounted  at  the 
close  of  1822  to  only  eight  or  ten.  The  missionaries 
sent  out  by  the  Assembly  were  few  in  number: — in  1821, 
Salmon  Cowles;  in  1822,  one  or  two  who  Avere  to  receive 
compensation  from  the  Presbytery  of  Mississippi;  in 
1823,  Isaac  Burd  and  Edmond  Lanier;  and  in  1824,  Ben- 
jamin Chase. 

In  1825  the  Presbytery  of  Mississippi,  extending  over 
the  region  of  Louisiana  and  Mississippi,  which  embraced 
a  population  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand,  con- 
sisted of  but  thirteen  ministers,  of  whom  eight — for  the 
most  part  missionaries  of  the  Assemblj-'s  Board — were 
without  charge.  These  were  Joseph  Bullen,  James 
Smylie,  Jacob  Eickhow,  James  GilHland,  Hiland  Hul- 
burt,  Thomas  Savage,  Benjamin  Chase,  and  J.  H.  Yan 
Court.  Theodore  Clapp,  although  soon  to  abandon  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  still  occupied  the  post  vacated  by 
the  death  of  Larned  at  Kew  Orleans;  George  Potts  was 
pastor  of  the  church  at  Natchez,  Samuel  Hunter  was 
settled  at  Salem  and  Bayou  Pierre,  John  Patterson  at 
Bethany  and  Friendship,  and  William  Montgomery  at 
Union  and  Ebenezer.  Benjamin  Woodbury  was  the 
single  licentiate  of  the  Presbj'tery.  The  number  of 
churches,  including  one  at  ISTew  Orleans,  One  at  Natchez, 
and  those  at  Pisgah,  Salem,  Bethany,  Carmel,  Eock 
Spring,  Bayou  Pierre,  Bethel,  Friendship,  Harmony, 
Ebenezer,  and  Union,  amounted  only  to  thirteen. 

The  project  for  the  establishment  of  Oakland  College 
originated  with  Jeremiah  Chamberlain,  who  became  the 
first  President  of  the  institution.  A  graduate  of  Dick- 
inson College  and  Princeton  Seminary,  he  set  out,  upon 
the  completion  of  his  studies  in  1817,  under  a  commis- 


MISSIONS    IN    MISSISSIPPI,  1810-1830.  381 

sion  from  the  Board  of  Missions,  on  a  missionary  tour 
to  the  Southwest.  He  visited  Natchez,  New  Orleans, 
and  Mobile,  and  although  settled  for  some  years  aftei*- 
wurd  at  Bedford,  Pa.,  and  subsequently  President  for 
some  five  or  six  years  of  Danville  College,  Ky.,  yet  his 
thoughts  were  still  directed  toward  the  region  in  which 
lie  had  commenced  his  ministerial  career.  During  the 
summer  and  autumn  of  1828  he  matured  a  plan  for  the 
establishment  of  a  literary  institution  to  be  located  at 
the  Southwest;  and — with  the  sad  experience  of  Tran- 
sylvania University  before  him — he  provided  that  it 
should  be  subject  to  Presbyterian  control  and  super- 
vision. Presenting  his  views  fully  to  the  Presbytery  of 
Mississippi,  that  body  adopted  his  plans  and  took  the 
proposed  institution  under  their  care.  The  establish- 
ment of  Oakland  College  in  Claiborne  county.  Miss., 
was  the  result.  Dr.  Chamberlain  was  by  the  Presbytery 
elected  President,  and  in  1830  removed  to  the  college 
grounds.  A  charter  was  secured,  and  Dr.  Chamberlain 
spared  no  expense  and  shrank  from  no  sacrifice  to  pro- 
mote the  interests  of  the  institution.  Funds,  buildings, 
and  friends  were  continually  added,  until  Oakland  Col- 
lege became  a  noble  monument  of  the  untiring  zeal  and 
Christian  philanthropy  of  its  President. 

Among  the  early  friends  of  the  institution  were  Dr. 
Butler,  of  Port  Gibson,  and  John  Dorrance,  of  Baton 
Eouge,  while  Montgomery,  Smjdie,  and  other  members 
of  the  Presbytery  regarded  it  with  the  deepest  interest. 
In  1837,  Rev.  Samuel  Vance  Marshall,  Professor  of  Lan- 
guages in  Trans3'lvania  University,  w^as  called  to  occupy 
a  similar  post  in  Oakland  College ;  and  his  subsequent 
life  is  largely  identified  with  the  history  of  the  college. 
Another  of  the  professors  Avas  Rev.  O.  S.  Hinkley. 

In  1828  the  Presbytery  of  Tombigbee  Avas  formed 
from  the  Indian  mission,  and  embraced  as  members 
Messrs.  T.  Archibald,  Kingsbury,  A.  Wright,  C.  Bying- 


382  HISTORY   OF   PRESBYTERIANISM. 

ton,  D.  Wright,  H.  Patrick,  H.  Allen,  L.  S.  Williams, 
and  H.  Caldwell.  By  1830  the  Presbytery  of  Mississippi 
numbered  sixteen  ministers  and  three  licentiates,  and 
the  membership  of  its  churches  amounted  to  eight  hun- 
dred and  fifty-three. 

In  1831^  the  Presbytery  of  Clinton  was  erected  from 
that  of  Mississippi,  and  in  1835  that  of  Amity  (name 
changed  to  Louisiana  in*1836)  was  set  off  from  the  same 
body.  In  1837  the  latter  numbered  ten  ministers,  two 
licentiates,  and  eight  candidates,  with  a  membei'ship  in 
its  thirteen  churches  of  five  h audited  and  sixty-four. 
The  Presbytery  of  Clinton  had  nine  ministers,  one 
licentiate,  and  thirteen  churches,  with  a  membership 
of  two  hundred  and  seventeen;  while  the  Presbytery 
of  Louisiana  had  ten  ministers,  four  licentiates,  and 
thirteen  churches,  with  two  hundred  and  twenty-eight 
members.  William  Montgomery  was  still  at  Ebeiiezor 
and  Union,  Natchez  had  been  left  vacant  by  the  removal 
of  Dr.  Potts  to  New  York,  Dr.  Butler  was  at  Port  Gib- 
son, Dr.  Chamberlain  at  Oakland  College,  and  Dr.  Joel 
Parker  at  New  Orleans.  In  the  three  Presbyteries 
there  were  but  three  settled  pastors, — Montgomery, 
Butler,  and  Parker.  Fifteen  of  the  twenty-nine  ministers 
were  stated  supplies,  and  six  were  without  charge. 

The  field  embraced  within  the  limits  of  the  State  of 
Georgia  came  properly  under  the  care  of  the  Synod  of 
South  Carolina,  and  by  members  of  that  body  had  been 
extensively  visited.  But  the  Synod,  unequal  to  tlie 
supply  of  its  own  destitutions,  made  application  to  the 
Assemblj'-  for  aid.  In  1820,  Mr.  E.  Chamberlain,  a  recent 
graduate  of  Princeton,  was  sent  thither,  and  labored  in 
all  the  towns  of  the  upper  country  of  Georgia,  preaching 
at  Waynesborough,  Louisville,  Mt.Zion,  Bethany,  Green- 

1  For  a  j-eport  of  the  state  of  society  at  the  Soutlnvcst  in  183], 
see  Missionary  Reporter  for  Norcmbcr  of  that  year. 


MISSIONS    IN    GEORGIA,  1S10-1S30.  383 

borougli,  Madison,  Athens,  Lexington,  Washington, 
Sparta,  Milledgeville,  Clinton,  &c.  At  about  the  same 
time  Azariah  G.  Orton  and  Charles  J.  Hinsdale,*  recom- 
mended for  the  service  by  one  of  the  professors  at 
Princeton,  were  sent  into  the  same  field. 

Previous  to  this,  little  labor  had  been  bestowed  upon 
it,  except  at  Midwa}^  and  Savannah  and  their  vicinity. 
The  Assembly  had,  indeed,  repeatedly  sent  out  mis- 
sionaries, whose  labors  were  to  be  extended  to  places 
within  the  borders  of  the  State.  In  181G,  John  Covert 
was  commissioned  to  labor  for  six  months  in  South 
Carolina  and  Georgia,  his  route  to  be  prescribed  by  Dr. 
Fiinn,  of  Cliarleston.  His  labors  Avere  continued  during 
a  portion  of  the  following  year  in  the  same  field.  In 
1818,  William  Modcrwcll^  was  commissioned  for  four 
months  in  the  upper  part  of  Georgia,  and  in  1819,  Moses 
Waddel  was  elected  to  the  Presidency  of  the  University 
of  Georgia.  Thomas  Alexander  had  for  some  time  been 
laboring  as  pastor  of  the  Salem  and  Mt.  Zioh'  Churches, 
in  Clark  county,  Thomas  Goulding  at  White  Bluft",*  and 
E.  B.  Caldwell  at  Waynesborough.  There  were,  doubt- 
less, other  missionaries  laboring  in  other  parts  of  the 
State;  but,  Avith  the  exception  of  the  churches  of  Sa- 
vannah and  Midway,  all  the  others  were  feeble  and  for 
the  most  part  unable  to  sustain  a  pastor.  The  church 
at  Savannah  Avas  the  oldest  in  the  State.  It  had  been 
formed  previous  to'lTGO,  when  John  J.  Zubly,  a  native 
of  Switzerland  and  an  emigrant  to  this  country,  as- 
sumed the  pastoral  charge.  An  able,  learned,  and 
devoted  minister  of  the  gospel,  he  labored  at  his  post 

1  Mr.  Hinsdale  organized  a  churcli  at  Clinton,  .Jones  county. — F. 

2  Settled  at  Augusta.     Afterward  deposed.     Died  a  sot. — F. 

'  Mt.  Zion  Churcli  is  not  in  Clark,  but  in  Hancock  county,  sixty 
miles  distant  from  Clark  coujity. — F. 

*  Goulding  .=ettled  at  Cberokco  Corner  and  Lexington,  Oglctliorpe 
county,  Ga. — F. 


384  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

till  for  his  political  views  he  was  exiled  from  the  State. 
His  death  occurred  in  1781,  somewhere  in  South  Cai'o- 
lina;  although  his  remains  were  hrought  to  Savannah 
for  interment.  How  long  after  his  death  the  church 
remained  vacant  does  not  appear.  In  1801,  Rohert 
Smith,  who  had  been  laboring  for  some  time  as  pastor 
of  the  church  of  Schenectady,  was  forced  by  the  failure 
of  his  health  to  seek  a  milder  climate,  and  in  that  year 
he  was  called  to  the  charge  of  the  church  of  Savannah.^ 
In  the  autumn  of  18UG  the  church  secured  the  pastoral 
services  of  the  gifted  and  devoted  Henry  Kollock.  As 
yet  but  thirty-four  years  of  age.  Kollock  had  already 
acquired  a  reputation  coextensive  with  the  bounds  of 
the  Church.  A  full  match  for  Bishop  Hobart  when  the 
two  were  intimate  associates  at  Nassau  Hall,  and  already, 
previous  to  his  call  to  Savannah,  Professor  of  Theology 
and  pastor  of  the  congregation  at  Princeton  for  three 
years,  he  entered  upon  his  work  at  the  South  in  the 
fulness  of  his  fame  and  with  prospects  of  usefulness 
which  were  not  belied  by  the  experience  of  his  pastorate.* 
With  a  voice  in  no  Avisc  remarkable  for  compass,  flexi- 
bility, or  even  harmon}-,  Mith  nothing  marked  in  ges- 
ture and  without  artifice  of  manner,  he  was  yet  a  man 
of  powerful  eloquence  and  ranked  among  the  first  pulpit- 
orators  of  the  land.  His  countenance  was — under  the 
excitement  of  the  occasion — remarkably  expressive. 
His  eye  sparkled  with  joy,  or  kindled  Avith  indignation, 
according  to  the  promptings  of  his  theme.  Yet  "his 
eloquence  was  not  at  one  time  a  mountain-torrent, 
dashing  and  foaming,  and  anon  a  meandering  river, 
pursuing  its  unruffled  course  through  an  extended  plain  : 
it  was  a  strong,  uniform,  and  noble  stream,  acquiring 
velocity  and  beauty  and  power  as  it  advanced."     With 

1  See  Dwight's  Travels,  notice  of  Schenectady,  ii.  488. 

2  Sprague's  Annals. 


MISSIONS    IN    GEORGIA,  1810-1830.  385 

no  ostentation  of  learning,  nothing  of  metaphj^sical  dis- 
cussion, little  of  rhetorical  verbiage,  his  discourses  were 
plain  and  simple,  yet  rich  with  imagery  and  glowing 
with  feeling.  He  brought  the  truth  in  an  intelligible 
and  impressive  manner  into  direct  contact  with  the 
heart.  His  success  was  what  might  have  been  antici- 
pated. At  his  first  communion-season  after  he  entered 
upon  his  labors  at  Savannah,  twenty  publicly  professed 
their  faith  in  Christ;  and  at  the  second  the  number  was 
eighteen. 

Such  was  the  reputation  that  he  here  acquired  that 
in  1810  he  was  called  to  the  Presidency  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Georgia,  the  post  afterward  accepted  by  Dr. 
Waddel;  but  his  attachment  to  the  ministry  led  him  to 
decline  the  appointment.  For  fourteen  years — although 
for  a  brief  time  his  reputation  was  clouded  by  his  fail- 
ings— he  remained  in  connection  with  the  church  at 
Savannah.^ 

A  neighbor  and  fellow-laborer  of  Kollock  was  Wil- 
liam McWhir,  who  for  several  years  before  his  arrival 
had  taken  charge  of  the  church  at  Sunbury  and  a  school 
at  Springfield  in  Liberty  county,  some  twenty  miles 
south  of  Savannah.  The  labors  of  the  school  at  leng-th 
became  such  that  he  was  forced  to  abandon  it,  while 
the  great  destitution  of  the  means  of  grace  in  the  sur- 
rounding region  impressed  him  with  the  obligation  still 
to  preach  as  he  had  opportunity.  He  organized  the 
Mcintosh  Church,  afterward  removed  to  Darien,  and 
labored  till  1820  at  various  places  in  the  counties  of 
Bryan,  Liberty,  and  Mcintosh.  In  1827  he  resumed  his 
labors  in  this  region,  and  continued  them  for  ten  years. 

Another  pioneer  laborer  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
in  Georgia  was  Eev.  (Dr.)  John  Brown,  whose  career 
has  alreadj'-  been  briefly  traced.     For  several  years — 

J  For  a  time  he  seems  to  have  withdrawn  from  the  Presbytery. 
Vol.  II.— 33 


386  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIAMSM. 

subsequent  to  1811 — he  discharged  the  duties  of  his 
office  as  President  of  Georgia  University,  after  which 
he  was  chosen  pastor  of  Mt.  Zion  Church  in  Hancock 
county.  This  station  he  held  for  twelve  years,  at  the 
same  time  laboring  extensivel}-  as  an  evangelist. 

In  1820,  Hinsdale  and  Orton,  who  have  been  already 
mentioned  as  the  Assembly's  missionaries,  entered  the 
field.  Following  the  advice  of  the  Synod  of  South 
Cai'olina,  they  selected  as  the  sphere  of  their  itinerancy 
the  region  embraced  by  the  then  seven  western  counties 
of  Georgia, — Baldwin,  Jones,  Twiggs,  Pulaski,  Laurens, 
and  Wilkinson,  lying  between  the  Oconee  and  Ocmul- 
gee,  and  the  southern  part  of  Washington  county  be- 
tween Oconee  and  Ogeechee  Elvers. 

The  whole  region  had  been  purchased  of  the  Indians 
only  fourteen  years  previous,  and  all  the  settlements 
were  of  recent  date.  The  vices  of  a  new  population 
were  extensively  prevalent.  The  want  of  an  enlight- 
ened and  faithful  ministry  was  deplorable.  Before  the 
arrival  of  the  missionaries  there  was  no  Presbyterian 
preaching  w^hatever.  Eeligion  was  lightly  esteemed, 
and  the  "  walk  of  many  professors  was  inconsistent  and 
ungodl3^"  Yet,  before  the  period  of  their  service  was 
complete,  the  missionaries  were  able  to  report  a  pros- 
pect that  several  Presbyterian  congregations  might  be 
organized. 

In  1821  the  Presbytery  of  Georgia,  which  had  recently 
been  formed,  and  which  covered  more  than  half  the 
State,  contained  but  eight  ministers.  They  were  still 
aided,  but  to  a  feeble  extent,  by  the  missionaries  sent 
out  by  the  Assembly.  The  burden  of  their  support  fell 
mainly  upon  the  Synod.  Hoi-ace  S.  Pratt  and  Charles 
K.  Hinsdale  were  commissioned  in  1821  to  labor  in  this 
reo-ion.     In  1822,*  John  H.  Vancourt  was  appointed  for 


1  William  F.  Curry,  a  native  of  Paris,  Ky.,  a  graduate  of  Transyl- 


MISSIONS    IN    GEORGIA,    1810-1830.  387 

six  months.  The  supervision  of  this  field  devolved 
mainl}'  upon  the  Synod  of  South  Carolina  and  Georgia; 
and  the  destitutions  of  other  portions  of  the  region 
under  its  care  were  such  that  it  could  give  but  little 
attention  to  the  wants  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in 
Georgia. 

In  1825  the  Presbytery  had  but  six  ministers  and  one 
licentiate.  Of  the  six,  four,  viz. :  William  McWhir, 
S.  J.  Davis,  Murdock  Murphy,  and  G.  G.  McWhorter,  < 
were  without  charge,  although  not  less  efficient  and 
energetic  in  missionary  labor  than  their  brethren 
Horace  S.  Pratt  and  Robert  Quarterraan,  the  first  pastor 
at  St.  Mary's  and  the  last  at  Midway.  Prior  to  this 
period,  Eev.  N.  S.  S.  Beman  (Dr.  Beman,  of  Troy)  had 
preached  with  great  acceptance  at  Mt.  Zion,  Eatonton, 
and  other  places  for  several  years,  and  his  brother 
Carlisle  Beman — afterward  President  of  Midway  Col- 
lege— had  been  licensed  to  preach  the  gospel.  Besides 
these,  there  were  within  the  State,  though  connected 
mainly  with  the  Presbytery  of  Hopewell,  Dr.  Francis 
Cummins,  at  Shady  Grove,  Greene  county.  Dr.  Waddel, 
President  of  the  State  University,  at  Athens,  Dr.  Alonzo 
Church,^  a  native  of  Vermont,  and  associated  with 
Waddel  as  a  teacher  in  the  university  from  1819,  Wil- 
liam Moderwell,  at  Augusta,  Remembrance  Chamber- 
lain, at  Madison,  in  Morgan  county,  John  S.  Wilson,  at 
Laurensville,  Alexander  H.  Webster,^  at  Washington, 
Wilkes    county,  Joseph  Y.  Alexander,  at  Lincolnton, 

vania  University  and  Princeton  Seminary,  on  completing  his  studies 
(1822)  accepted  an  appointment  as  a  missionary  to  Northern  Georgia, 
where  his  labors  were  blessed  in  tlie  formation  of  several  Presby- 
terian churches.  He  subsequently  labored  at  Pittsford,  Locliport, 
and  Geneva,  N.Y. 

1  Now  President  of  Franklin  College,  at  Athens. 

^  A  graduate  of  Union  College,  and  tutor  in  the  University  of 
"ueorgia. — F. 


888  HISTORY    OF    TRESBYTERIANISM. 

and  Thomas  Goulding,  at  Lexington,  Oglethorpe  county. 
In  1825,  Rev.  George  Foot,  a  licentiate  of  the  Prcsbj^- 
tery  of  Hopewell,  was  ordained  and  located  at  Monti- 
cello,  Hillsborough,  and  Clinton,  and  (Dr.)  Joseph  C. 
Stiles  was  licensed.  But  all  these,  besides  licentiates 
and  ministers  without  charge,  numbered  onl}^  about 
twelve :  so  that  the  entire  number  of  Presbyterian 
^  ministers  within  the  bounds  of  the  State  scarcely  ex- 
ceeded twenty.  Yet  this  (1825)  was  the  date  of  the 
revival  of  the  system  of  four-days  meetings  in  Hope- 
well Presbytery,^  with  which  a  great  improvement  in 
the  state  of  religion  commenced. 

In  1830  the  number  of  ministers  had  been  but  slightly 
increased.  The  churches  numbered  from  thirty  to  forty, 
and  their  membership  was  but  little  more  than  twelve 
hundred. 

In  1837  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Georgia  was  repre- 
sented by  the  three  Presbyteries  of  Hopewell,  Georgia, 
and  Flint  River,  the  first  with  eighteen  ministers  and 
forty  churches,  with  a  membership  of  ten  hundred  and 
nine,  the  second  with  ten  ministers,  nine  churches,  and 
a  membership  of  three  hundred  and  forty-five,  and  the 
last,  set  off  as  "Good  Hope"  from  Hopewell  in  1833, 
and  numbering  eleven  ministers.  The  pastors  of  the 
State  were  Robert  Quarterman,  of  the  Congregational 
Church,  Midway,  N.  A.  Pratt,  of  Darien,  Washington 
Baird,  of  \Yaynesville,  Joseph  L.  Jones,  of  Savannah, 
Nathan  Hoyt,  of  Athens,  George  James,  of  Monticello, 
and  John  "W.  Baker,  of  Milledgeville.  More  than  twenty 
of  the  churches  had  stated  supplies,  and  about  the  same 
number  were  vacant.  Among  the  members  of  the 
Presbytery  were  President  Church,  of  Athens,  Presi- 
dent Beman,  of  Milledgeville,  Professor  Jones,  of  Co- 
lumbia, Francis  R.  Goulding,  stated  supply  of  Wash- 

1  This  was  the  origin  of  protracted  meetings. — F. 


MISSIONS    IN    ALABAMA,    1810-1830.  389 

ington  Church,  and  Theodore  M.  Dwight,  of  Burke 
County  Church. 

One  of  the  earliest  missionaries  to  Alabama  was  J. 
"W.  Piatt,  sent  out  by  the  Young  Men's  Evangelical 
Missionary  Society  of  New  York.  lie  arrived  at  Ilunts- 
ville  on  the  26th  of  November,  1819.^  Of  this  place  he 
remarked,  "  Its  inhabitants  will  suffer  nothing  by  a  com- 
,  parison  of  those  of  most  other  towns  in  our  countiy  as 
it  respects  intelligence,  refinement,  and  wealth."  Yet 
there  was  in  the  place  no  organized  church,  or  stated 
ministry,  or  house  of  worship,  although  many  were 
anxious  for  gospel  ordinances.  Through  his  influence, 
steps  were  taken  to  erect  "a  handsome  brick  church." 

From  Iluntsville,  where  he  was  urgently  pressed  to 
remain,  Mr.  Piatt  proceeded  to  Tuscaloosa,  St.  Stephens, 
Blakely,  and  Mobile.  Everywhere  he  was  kindly  and 
hospitably  received.  "  It  was  pleasant,"  he  says,  "  to 
be  among  these  peoj^le, — to  feed  those  sheep  in  the  wil- 
derness." 

In  the  successive  years  from  1817  to  1820,  Francis  H. 
Porter  was  commissioned  by  the  Assembly  to  labor  as 
a  missionar}'^  in  Alabama  Territory.  In  1819  Lucas. 
Kenned}'  was  appointed  wuth  him  to  the  same  field. 
In  1819  we  find  James  L.  Sloss  and  Hiland  Hulburt, 
members  of  the  Presbytery  of  South  Carolina,  laboring 
in  connection  Avith  the  congregations  respectivel}^  of 
Jackson  and  of  Claiborne. 

Of  these  names,  that  of  James  Long  Sloss  is  desei'ving 
of  special  mention.  He  was  a  native  of  Ireland,  but 
came  to  this  country  at  an  early  age.  It  was  the  earnest 
desire  of  his  pious  parents  that  he  should  be  devoted  to 
the  work  of  the  ministry;  and  one  of  his  earliest  recol- 
lections was  that  his  father  placed  his  hand  upon  his 
head,  and  said,  ''My  son,  I  would  rather  see  j'ou  a  faith- 


1  Christian  Herald,  1819-20,  p.  760. 
33* 


390  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

fill  minister  of  the  gospel  than  a  crowned  monarch." 
Under  the  care  of  Dr.  Waddel,  he  completed  his  pre- 
paratory theological  course,  and,  notwithstanding  the 
solicitations  of  some  of  his  friends  who  urged  him  to 
devote  himself  to  the  legal  profession,  was  licensed  to 
preach,  by  the  Presbytery  of  South  Carolina,  in  Novem- 
ber, 1817. 

The  next  day  after  his  licensure,  he  was  commissioned 
by  the  Presbytery  to  labor  as  a  missionary  through 
portions  of  Georgia  and  the  newly-formed  settlements 
of  what  was  then  called  the  Alabama  Territory.  In 
less  than  a  year  he  was  ordained  an  itinej-ant  on  the 
Southwestern  frontier,  and  soon  after  accepted  a  call 
from  St.  Stephens,  Clark  county,  Ala.,  where  he  remained 
for  three  years,  preaching  successfully  and  at  the  same 
time  taking  charge  of  an  academy.  In  1821  he  removed 
to  Selma,  in  Dallas  county,  and  took  charge  of  the  three 
churches  of  Selma,  Pleasant  Yalley,  and  Cahawba.  He 
subsequently  labored  at  Somcrville  and  New  Providence, 
and  finally  at  Florence,  in  Lauderdale  county,  where 
the  closing  years  of  his  life  Avere  spent.  Nearly  his 
whole  career  was  passed  in  Alabama.  "  It  was  cha- 
racterized b}'-  great  activity  and  devotedness,  and  much 
of  it  by  great  self-denial."  With  a  logical  mind,  a  fine 
imagination,  a  ready  extemporaneous  address,  a  natural 
gesticulation,  a  voice  somewhat  harsh,  but  of  ample 
compass,  a  cultivated  taste,  extensive  general  as  well 
as  scientific  knowledge,  and  a  high  spirit,  delightfully 
softened  and  controlled  by  the  influence  of  a  con- 
sistent and  enlightened  piety,  he  stood  eminent  among 
his  brethren,  and  his  whole  manner,  by  its  fervor  and 
boldness  as  well  as  propriety,  was  fitted  to  make  a  deep 
impression.  lie  labored  in  connection  with  quite  a 
number  of  churches  during  the  period  of  his  ministry; 
and  in  the  camp-meetings  which  were  annually  held 
not  many  miles  from  his  residence,  he  took  an  active 


MISSIONS    IN    ALABAMA,    1810-1830.  391 

part.  From  these  occasions,  Avhen,  as  was  usually  the 
case,  thousands  were  assembled, — some  coming  a  dis- 
tance of  more  than  thirty  miles, — hundreds  dated  their 
first  religious  impressions,  and  often  their  conversion. 

Another  efficient  pioneer  laborer  in  this  region  has 
been  already  mentioned, — Francis  H.  Porter.  For 
several  successive  years  he  had  itinerated  largely 
throughout  the  northern  portions  of  the  State.  In  1820 
he  visited  Pleasant  Valley,  where  "the  assemblies  were 
large,  attentive,  and  serious,"  White's  and  Stor3''s  set- 
tlement in  Green  county, — where  he  organized  the 
church  of  New  Hope, — and  the  adjacent  region.^ 

In  1821,  Joseph  P.  Cunningham  and  Salmon  Cowles 
were  appointed  by  the  Assembly  missionaries  to  Ala- 
bama, the  latter  to  labor  in  the  northern  part.  In  the 
following  year  the  former  was  reappointed  to  the  same 
field.  James  B.  Stafford  was  directed  also  to  labor 
within  the  bounds  of  the  State.  In  1823  the  name  of 
Francis  II.  Porter  appears  alone  on  the  list  of  mis- 
sionary appointments  for  this  field,  and  in  the  two  fol- 
lowing years  Samuel  Taylor  is  the  only  laborer  for 
Alabama  and  West  Florida  commissioned  by  the  Board. 
The  Presbytery  of  Alabama,  however,  was  authorized 
to  employ  one  or  more  missionaries,  on  the  condition 
of  bearing  half  the  expense. 

In  1825  the  two  Presbyteries  of  Alabama  and  North 
Alabama,  covering  the  whole  State,  contained  jointly 
seventeen  ministers,  of  whom  five — Thomas  Newton, 
Neil  McMillan,  Henry  White,  Alexander  A.  Campbell, 
and  Thomas  C.  Stewart — were  without  charge,  but  for 
the  most  part  engaged  in  missionarj^  labor.  Besides 
these,  James  Hillhouse  was  pastor  at  Greensborough, 

'  In  1810,  James  Hillhouse,  James  L.  Sloss,  and  Hiland  Hiilburt, 
to  be  mentioned  hereafter,  were  laboring,  the  first  at  Hopewell  and 
Carmel,  the  second  at  Jackson,  and  the  last  at  Claiborne.  They 
were  connected  with  South  Carolina  Presbytery. 


392  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

J.  P.  Cunningham  at  Concord,  Green  county,  Thomas 
Alexander  at  Sehna,  Isaac  Haden  at  Prairie  BlutT,  and 
John  B.  Warren  at  Mobile. 

In  North  Alabama  Presbytery,  William  Potter  was 
pastor  at  Huntsville,  A.  K.  Davis  and  John  Allan 
labored  in  the  same  region,  Joseph  Wood  at  Tuscumbia, 
Hugh  Barr  at  Courtland,  and  Eobert  M.  Cunningham 
— who  had  recently  regigned  his  charge  at  Lexington, 
Ky. — at  Moulton,  in  the  neighborhood  of  which  his 
efforts  were  crowned  with  large  success.  He  became 
instrumental  subsequently  in  raising  up  the  church  at 
Tuscaloosa,  and  another  in  the  neighboring  town  of 
Carthage.  Joseph  Parks  Cunningham,  already  men- 
tioned as  a  member  of  the  Presbytery  of  Alabama,  was 
his  son. 

At  this  period  the  churches  connected  with  both 
Presbyteries,  although  two  or  three  were  within  the 
bounds  of  Mississippi,  numbered  only  twenty-eight. 
Of  these  nearly  all  were  feeble  and  unable  to  supjjort 
a  pastor.  The  average  number  of  members  belonging 
to  each  was  about  thirty. 

In  1830  the  two  Presbyteries  of  North  and  South 
Alabama  numbered  conjointly  twenty-nine  ministers 
and  forty-one  churches,  with  a  membership  of  seven- 
teen hundred  and  thirteen.  In  1834  the  Presbytery 
of  Tuscaloosa  was  formed  from  that  of  South  Alabama. 
In  1837  the  Presbytery  of  North  Alabama — connected 
with  the  Synod  of  West  Tennessee — had  eight  min- 
isters and  sixteen  churches,  numbering  five  hundred 
and  fourteen  members.  South  Alabama  had  thirteen 
ministers,  five  licentiates,  and  thirtj^-one  cburches,  with 
a  membershij*  of  sixteen  hundred  and  ninet^^-three. 
The  Presbytery  of  Tuscaloosa  had  ten  ministers  and 
fifteen  churches,  with  a  membership  of  seven  hundred 
and  thirty-nine.  In  the  nortbern  part  of  the  State  the 
only  pastors  were  James  L.  Sloss  at  Florence  and  Dr. 


MISSIONS    IN    FLORIDA,    1"10-1S30.  093 

John  Allan  at  Huntsville.  The  stated  supplies  were  S.  IT. 
Morrison  at  Moulton,  James  Wcatherby  at  Tuscumbia, 
and  James  H.  Gillespie  at  Somerville.  In  Southern 
Alabama,  William  T.  Hamilton  was  settled  over  the 
Government  Street  Church,  Mobile,^  liobert  Nail  at 
Marion,  Elon  O.  Martin  at  Hopewell  and  Sandy  Ridge, 
and  James  B.  Adams  at  Hebron  and  Xew  Hope.  Thirt}'- 
three  of  the  churches,  or  more  than  one-half,  had  stated 
supplies  ;  while  seventeen  were  vacant. 

The  First  Presb3'terian  Church  in  East  Florida  was 
organized  by  William  3IcWhir,  in  1824,  at  St.  Augus- 
tine. He  had  for  many  years  been  laboring  in  Georgia 
in  the  counties  to  the  south  of  Savannah,  but,  in  con- 
sequence of  a  representation  of  the  destitution  of  the 
means  of  grace  in  this  field,  was  induced  to  visit  it.  He 
accordingly  constituted  a  Presbyterian  church,  ordained 
elders,  and  engaged  in  collecting  the  requisite  funds  for 
building  a  church-edifice,  and  in  due  time  had  the  plea- 
sure of  seeing  his  object  accomplished. 

At  the  time  he  visited  this  recently-acquired  terri- 
tory there  was  not  a  Protestant  minister  within  its 
bounds.  A  missionary  of  the  Methodist  Church  had 
been  laboring  there,  but  had  left.  Eev.  Eleazar  La- 
throp  preached  for  some  time  in  St.  Augustine,  and 
with  encouraging  success.  On  his  way  to  Xew  York, 
in  the  spring  of  1824,  to  collect  funds,  he  laid  the  con- 
dition of  the  Presbyterian  society  to  which  he  had 
ministered  before  the  Synod  of  South  Carolina  and 
Georgia,  by  whom  his  agency  was  endorsed;  and  it 
seems  probable  that  the  mission  of  McWhir  Avas  occa- 
sioned by  the  representations  of  Mr.  Lathrop.  The 
importance  of  aid  for  the  erection  of  a  place  of  worship 
Avas  obvious,  and  both  McWhir  and  Lathrop  were  active 
and  energetic  in  their  applications  for  help.     The  last 

1  James  R.  Johnston  was  stated  supply  at  Mobile  in  1833. 


894  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

was  appointed,  previous  to  his  return  from  bis  collect- 
ing tour,  by  the  Missionarj*  Board  of  the  Assembly,  tt 
labor  in  the  field  in  which  ho  had  become  so  deeply 
interested.  He  spent  four  months  of  labor  in  1824  at 
St.  Augustine,  and  two  in  Pensacola. 

The  church  of  St.  Augustine  was  for  several  years 
the  only  one  in  East  Florida.  It  stood  connected  with 
Charleston  Union  Presbytery,  and,  consequently,  with 
the  Synod  of  South  Carolina  and  Georgia.  After  Mr. 
Lathrop  left  on  account  of  ill  health,  it  was  sujiplied 
by  E.  H.  Snowden,  sent  out  and  sustained  by  the 
American  Home  Missionary'  Society.  He  commenced 
his  labors  in  1831.^  The  Sabbath  after  his  arrival,  the 
Presbyterian  congregation  convened  for  the  first  time, 
in  the  new  building  which  for  years  thej^  had  been 
engaged  in  erecting,  and  which  afforded  them  "  very 
pleasant  accommodations."  For  almost  ten  years  they 
"  had  been  in  the  wilderness,  without  rest  or  shelter;" 
and  it  was  cheering  to  them  at  last  to  be  permitted  to 
worship  in  their  own  tabernacle. 

The  Sabbath-school,  previously  languishing,  was  re- 
vived. An  advance  was  manifest  in  morals  and  religion. 
In  the  surrounding  country  other  Sunday-schools  were 
instituted ;  and  Mr.  Snowden  wrote,  "  I  hope  you  will 
send  on  missionaries  to  Florida;  but  I  would  advise 
none  to  come  who  cannot  endure  hardness  as  good 
soldiers  of  Jesus  Christ." 

In  1837  a  church  of  seven  members  was  reported 
at  Mandarin,  and  one  of  fifty-one  members  at  Talla- 
hassee.'' 


1  Mission.iry  Reporter,  November,  1831.  He  had  been  laboring 
here  temporarily  before.  In  1827  he  was  commissioned  by  the 
Assembly's  Board  for  three  months'  labor  at  St.  Augustine. 

2  Francis  H.  Porter  was  commissioned  by  the  Assembly's  Board 
in  1827  for  three  months  at  Tallahassee. 


MISSIONS    IN    INDIANA,    1810-1830.  '395 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

THE    MISSION-FIELD    AT    THE    WEST    AND    NORTHWEST, 

1810-1830. 

At  an  early  period  the  attention  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  was  directed  to  the  mission-field  embraced  in  In- 
diana Territory.  In  1805,  Thomas  Williamson,  a  licen- 
tiate of  the  Second  Presbytery  of  South  Carolina,  was 
appointed  by  the  Assembly  to  three  months'  service, 
"  in  the  lower  parts  of  the  State  of  Ohio,  and  in  the 
Indiana  Territory  as  low  as  Kaskaskias "  In  1806, 
Samuel  Holt,  of  the  Presbytery  of  West  Lexington, 
was  appointed  for  three  months  "in  the  Indiana  Terri- 
torj',  and  especially  at  Vincennes."  The  First  Presby- 
terian Church  in  the  Territory  was  constituted  at  this 
place  (Vincennes)  in  the  same  year  by  Rev.  Samuel  B. 
Robertson,  and  was  called  "  Indiana  Church."  In  the 
following  year  Rev.  Samuel  Thornton  Scott,  from  Ken- 
tuek}^  took  up  his  residence  in  the  vicinity  and  preached 
to  this  church.  He  was  the  first  resident  minister. 
After  one  or  two  years  he  returned  to  Kentucky,  but 
after  about  the  same  interval  he  came  back  to  the 
neighboi'hood  of  Vincennes,  where  he  continued  till 
his  death  in  1827. 

In  1809  and  1810,  James  H.  Dickey  was  in  the  em- 
ploy of  the  Assembly  in  this  and  the  surrounding  re- 
gion In  1811,  we  find  the  names  of  Stephen  Bovelle 
and  James  McGready  on  the  list  of  missionary  appoint- 
ments for  the  field,  and  their  commissions  were  renewed 
for  the  following  year. 


398  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

In  1814  the  Burabei-  of  laborers  was  enlarged. 
Toward  the  close  of  the  year  John  M.  Dickey,  a  licen- 
tiate of  Muhlenberg  Presbytery/  better  known  after, 
ward  as  "  Father"  Dickey,  visited  the  field.  He  was 
of  Irish  descent,  but  a  native  of  South  Carolina.  He 
came  to  the  Forks  of  White  Eiver  in  December,  and 
removed  with  his  family  in  May,  1815.  When  he 
crossed  the  river  (White),  the  charge  for  ferriage  ex- 
ceeded by  fifty  cents  the  money  in  his  possession.  He 
was  settled  over  White  River  Church,  at  the  forks  of 
White  Eiver,  near  what  is  now  Washington,  Davis 
county.  In  1817  he  was  ordained  by  Muhlenburg 
Presbytery,  and  dismissed  to  unite  with  others  in 
forming  Salem  Presbytery.^  Till  1819  he  preached 
half  the  time  at  White  River  Church  on  a  salary  of 
fifty  dollars  a  year,  occupying  a  field  sixteen  miles 
long  by  ten  broad.  The  other  half  of  his  time  was 
spent  as  a  volunteer  missionary  in  various  destitute 
places,  from  which  he  received  barely  enough  to  meet 
his  travelling-expenses.  To  support  his  family  he  had 
to  resort  to  manual  labor  and  giving  instruction  in 
sacred  music.  In  1819  he  removed  to  the  vieinitj'  of 
Lexington,  Scott  county,  and  took  charge  of  three  small 
churches, — Pisgah,  Lexington,  and  Graham, — laboring 


'  See  pampblet,  "A  Brief  History  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in 
Indiana,"  by  J.  M.  Dickey,  p.  12. 

2  Salem  Presbytery,  however,  did  not  hold  its  first  meeting  until 
April,  1824.  In  October,  1823,  the  Synod  of  Kentucky  divided 
Louisville  Presbytery  and  constituted  the  Presbytery  of  Salem, 
embracing  all  of  Indiana  west  of  a  line  running  due  north  from  the 
mouth  of  Kentucky  River. 

The  name  Salem  was  suggested  by  Rev.  Isaac  Reed,  with  refer- 
ence to  its  scriptural  signification.      See  "Christian  Traveller." 

The  first  meeting  was  held  in  the  town  of  Salem,  April  1,  1824, 
and  was  opened  with  a  sermon  by  Rev.  Samuel  T.  Scott,  from  Eph. 
iv.  3,  4. 


MISSIONS    IN    INDIANA,    lSlO-1830.  397 

finally  at  Pisgah  and  Washington,  near  the  Ohio.  Here 
he  was  installed  :  yet  he  continued  his  labors  as  a  mis- 
sionary with  untiring  zeal  and  incessant  diligence.  A 
large  number  of  churches  were  gathered  and  organized 
by  his  instrumentality,  and,  although  two  other  Pres- 
byterian ministers  had  been  settled  before  him  within 
the  bounds  of  the  State,  his  name  will  stand  deserv- 
edly conspicuous  as  the  father  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  Indiana.  He  entered  the  field  when  it  con- 
tained less  than  half  a  dozen  laborers,  but  lived  to  see 
Presbyteries  and  Synods  spring  up  around  him.  Till 
1847  he  continued  his  pastoral  and  pulpit  labors;  and 
nothing  but  increasing  infirmity  prevented  him  from 
still  pursuing  the  missionary  work. 

In  1815,  Joseph  Anderson  and  James  Welch  were 
employed,  and  the  Pittsburg  Society  was  authorized  to 
engage  others  in  the  same  field.  In  the  following  year 
Samuel  T.  Scott  returned  to  Vincennes,  and  James  Mc- 
Gready,  William  Wylie,  Samuel  Brown,  Joseph  B. 
Lapsley,  and  Thomas  Cleland  were  to  labor  for  longer 
or  shorter  periods  within  the  Territory.  This  field  fell 
properly  w'ithin  the  bounds  of  the  Synod  of  Kentucky, 
as  the  one  to  which  it  was  most  accessible ;  and  by 
far  the  largest  number  of  its  missionaries  were  selected 
from  that  body.  Already  congregations  had  been 
gathered  at  several  places,  but  none  of  them  were  a(jle 
to  sustain  a  pastor. 

In  1816,  Charles  Robinson,  sent  out  by  one  of  the 
New  York  missionary  societies  to  labor  in  Missouri, 
passed  through  this  region.  He  found  in  the  Terri- 
tories of  Indiana  and  Illinois  but  one  settled  pastor 
and  five  or  six  missionaries.  In  June  of  the  same  year, 
Rev.  Nathan  B.  Derrow,  for  seven  years  an  efficient 
missionary  of  the  Connecticut  Society  in  the  Western 
Reserve,  left  that  field  to  accept  a  missionary  appoint- 
ment to  Indiana  and  Illinois.    He  passed  through  Ohio 

Vol.  II.— 34 


398  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTEUIANISM. 

by  a  circuitous  route  to  Jeffcrsouville.^  Here  he  spent 
a  few  weeks,  thence  proceeding  north  to  Fort  Harrison, 
then  down  the  "Wabash  on  his  tour  of  exploration. 

He  found  the  field  at  once  destitute  and  inviting. 
Although  the  country  was  yet  but  thinly  settled,  "  ad- 
ditions to  the  population  were  continual  and  great.'^ 
Illiterate  and  enthusiastic  preachers  were  numerous. 
He  was  deeply  affected  and  distressed  by  the  extreme 
ignorance  which  prevailed,  especially  among  the  first 
settlers  and  their  children.  "  In  every  direction,  many 
whole  families  were  to  be  found  without  a  book  of  any 
sort."  The  population  was  extremely  heterogeneous. 
3Iany  belonged  to  "  the  hunting  class."  In  a  large 
number  of  instances,  extreme  indigence  was  connected 
with  extreme  ignorance.  When  tracts  were  presented 
by  the  missionary,  he  was  asked  to  read  them  by  those 
who  declared  they  could  not  read  themselves.  The 
state  of  general  intelligence  was  humiliatingly  low. 
The  people  were  just  in  a  condition  to  become  the  prey 
of  false  teachers. 

Mr.  Derrow  commenced  his  labors  with  energy,  and 
was  instrumental  in  organizing  four  Bible-societies, — 
three  in  Indiana  and  one  in  Illinois.  As  immigration 
increased,  the  more  unsettled  and  nomadic  classes  re- 
moved to  more  distant  regions.  Orderly  government 
began  to  be  established  and  recognized.  The  Legisla- 
ture enacted  laws  frowning  upon  vice  and  immorality. 

New  laborers,  for  longer  or  shorter  periods,  were  now 
continually  arriving.  Mr.  Giddings,  from  St.  Louis, 
sometimes  crossed  the  Mississippi,  extending  his  ex- 
plorations into  Indiana  and  Illinois.  "William  Dickey 
and  James  McGready  were  appointed  by  the  General 
Assembly  of  1817  to  spend  each  three  months  in  the 
bounds  of  the  State,  the  former  at  "  discretion,"  the 

^  On  the  Obio,  opposite  Louisville. 


MISSIONS    IN    INDIANA,    1810-1830.  399 

last  in  Clai'k,  Harrison,  Gibson,  and  Huron  counties. 
John  F.  Crowe  Avas  also  to  labor  three  months  in  Illi- 
nois Territoiy.  In  the  following  year  their  places 
were  taken,  by  appointment  of  the  Assembly,  by  H.  K. 
Rodgers,  Samuel  Graham,  and  Benjamin  Low, — the 
former  commissioned  for  Indiana  and  the  two  last  for 
Illinois. 

In  the  same  year  Orin  Fowler  was  sent  out  by  the 
Connecticut  Society  as  a  missionary  to  Indiana  for  six 
months.  His  circuit  included  ten  counties  in  the  middle 
and  eastern  parts  of  the  State,  and  the  region  extend- 
ing from  this  toward  the  Wabash.  In  every  direction. 
*'  the  people  were  anxious  to  hoar  the  word  preached." 
The  missionary,  although  addressing  congregations 
almost  daily,  was  able  to  meet  but  few  of  the  pressing 
invitations  extended  to  him.  Many  came  eight,  ten, 
fifteen,  and  some  twenty,  miles  to  hear  a  sermon.  At 
one  time  he  had  appointments  "  for  seven  weeks  for- 
ward" in  nearly  as  many  difterent  counties.  Within 
this  period,  also,  he  had  appointments  to  administer  the 
sacrament  three  times  and  organize  two  churches.  Not 
an  hour's  leisui'e  could  he  find  for  study. 

In  1818,  although  quite  a  number  of  churches  had 
Jbeen  organized  within  the  bounds  of  Indiana,  not  one 
of  them'  enjoyed  the  labors  of  a  settled,  pastor.  A 
small  church  had  recently  been  formed  at  Madison, 
and  wa,8  temporarily  supplied  by  a  minister  who  soon 
left.  The  membershijD  was  only  seventeen.  Pisgah 
Church,  a.fow  miles  down  the  Ohio,  had  been  organized 
not  long  before  by  James  McGready,  while  perlorming 
service  as  a  missionary  by  aj^pointment  of  the  General 
Assembly.  At  Charlestown,  the  county-seat  of  Clarke 
county,  was  a  small  church,  with  Mr.  Todd  as  resident 
minister.     At  New  Albany  was   a   church  of  twelve 


Reed's  Christian  Traveller,  218. 


400  HISTORY    OF    PllESBYTERlANISM. 

members,  recently  organized  by  the  Rev.  D.  C.  Banks.' 
From  this  down  the  Ohio  to  the  State  line  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Wabash,  there  was  no  church  and  no 
minister.  In  the  direction  of  Vincennes  there  were 
two  churches, — one  at  Blue  River,  and  one  at  Livonia, 
— both  formed  by  Mr.  McGi'eady;  and  these,  in  connec- 
tion with  the  church  of  Salem,  were  supplied  by  Rev. 
"William  W.  Martin.  At  Washington,  Davis  county,  a 
feeble  church  existed,  which  for  a  short  time  had  been 
supplied  by  the  Rev.  J.  M.  Dickey.  In  Knox  county, 
and  near  Vincennes,  was  a  small  church, — already  men- 
tioned,— supplied  by  Rev.  T.  S.  Scott.  Thirty  miles 
higher  up  the  Wabash  River  a  small  church  was  sup- 
plied by  Rev.  J.  Balch,  alread}^  enfeebled  by  age.  Three 
missionaries  of  the  Connecticut  Society  were  at  the 
time  laboring  within  the  bounds  of  the  State.  One  of 
these  was  N.  B.  Derrow,  by  whom  one  church  was 
formed  in  Jennings  and  another  in  Jackson  county. 
Another  was  Orin  Fowler,  by  whom  three  churches 
were  organized. 

In  September,  Isaac  Reed,  a  native  of  Granville,  N.Y., 
and  a  graduate  of  Middlebury  College,  commenced  his 
labors  for  a  year  at  New  Albany.  In  1813,  when  the 
town  was  laid  out,  its  site  was  thickly  covered  with 
heavy  timber.  In  five  years  the  population  had  in- 
9  creased  to  seven  hundred,  and  a  church  had  been  formed, 
consisting  of  thirteen  members.  Before  the  close  of  the 
year  (1819)  the  number  had  increased  to  thirty-five. 
The  moral  aspect  of  the  place  had  been  greatly  changed. 

1  Another  statement  represents  it  to  have  been  organized  by  Mr. 
McGready,  Feb.  16,  1816.  It  was  first  known  as  Union  Church  of 
Jeffersonville.  Six  of  the  ten  original  members  were  from  the 
latter  place.  The  Second  Church  of  New  Albany  was  organized  in 
November,  1837,  with  one  hundred  and  three  members.  Causes  of 
division  in  the  original  congregation  had  preceded  the  division  in 
the  Presbyterian  Church  at  large. 


MISSIONS    IN    INDIANA,    1810-1830.  401 

The  stores,  whicli  had  been  kept  open  on  the  Sabbath, 
were  now  closed.  A  Sunday-school  of  sixty  scholars — 
the  first  organized  within  the  bounds  of  the  State — had 
been  established;  but,  without  missionary  aid,  the 
church  was  unable  to  retain  Mr.  Eeed  as  stated  supply, 
and  he  removed  to  Kentucky.  His  successor,  Ezra  H. 
Day,  who  commenced  his  labors  in  the  summer  of  1822, 
closed  his  life  in  the  autumn  of  the  following  year. 

In  1813  the  seat  of  government  was  removed  from 
Yincennes  to  Corydon,  and  at  the  latter  place  a  church 
was  organized  by  John  F.  Crowe,  missionary  from  Ken- 
tucky, in  1818.  In  the  spring  of  1814  the  town  of  Eising 
Sun  was  laid  out.  Two  years  later  a  church  was  or- 
ganized by  Mr.  Derrow;  but  it  w^as  not  till  1828  that  a 
pastor  was  secured.  In  that  year  Lucius  Alden,  who 
for  some  time  had  preached  in  Aurora  and  Csesar  Creek 
township,  was  installed;  but  till  1831,  when  he  was 
succeeded  by  William  Lewis,  the  congregation  de- 
pended for  a  place  of  worship  on  school-houses,  shops, 
private  houses,  the  shady  woods,  or  the  loan  of  the 
Methodist  chapel.  In  1819  a  church  was  organized  at 
Bloomington  by  Isaac  Eeed,  and  John  M.  Dickey  was 
installed  at  New  Lexington.  Soon  after,  churches  were 
gathered  at  Terre  Haute  (laid  out  in  1816)  and  Paris, 
and  a  stone  meeting-house  was  erected  at  Dunn  and 
Logan's  Settlement,  seven  miles  below  Madison,  while 
at  the  latter  place  Thomas  C.  Searle,  sent  out  by  the 
Young  Men's  Missionary  Society  of  New  York,  had 
commenced  (July  21,  1818)  his  labors,  which  were 
closed  by  death  in  1821.  In  1820,  Hanover  Church 
was  formed  and  united  with  the  Madison  Church; 
and  in  the  same  year  W.  W.  Martin  was  installed  at 
Livonia. 

In  1819,  Stephen  Bovelle  was  sent  out  by  the  As- 
sembl}'  to  labor  for  a  jiortion  of  the  year  in  this  field. 
For  Illinois,  which  had  now  become  a  State,  two  mis- 

34* 


402  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

sionaries  were  appointed,  Avho  Avcre  to  labor  at  Ed- 
wardsville,  Shawanee,  and  the  adjoining  settlements, 
and  were  to  be  in  part  sustained  by  the  local  missionary 
societies  on  the  frontier.  In  1820  the  Connecticut 
Society  sent  out  Ahab  Jenks,  and  the  Assembly,  John 
Vancourt  and  George  S.  Boardman.  Henry  Perkins 
and  Andrew  O.  Patterson  were  likewise  to  labor  in 
Illinois,  consulting  in  regard  to  their  route  with  the 
auxiliary  missionary  societies.  Isaac  Reed  also  at  this 
time  commenced  his  labors  under  the  commission  of 
the  Connecticut  Society,  but  soon  removed  to  Ken- 
tucky, returning  two  j'ears  later  to  Indiana  and  taking 
charge  of  Bethany  Church,  which  was  organized  in 
Owen  county  in  1820  by  John  M.  Dickey.' 

At  this  period  (1820)  the  population  of  the  State  had  in- 
creased to  one  hundred  and  forty  thousand,  mostly  bor- 
dering on  the  Ohio  and  the  east  line  of  the  State,  and 
extending  up  the  Wabash  for  some  two  hundred  miles. 
The  emigrants  were  "  mainly  from  the  south  of  the  Ohio 
River,"  and  were  "  a  mixture  from  almost  everj^  quar- 
ter." "  Interest  had  drawn  most;  to  be  in  new  coun- 
tries had  induced  others;  while  to  get  away  from  negro 
slavery  had  influenced  not  a  few  in  their  removals  from 
slaveholding  States.  Many  also  were  from  the  Ohio, 
and  some — although  few — from  the  Northern  States."* 
^In  the  bounds  of  the  State  there  were  only  seven  min- 
isters, and  but  two  of  these  settled  pastors.  In  1822, 
Isaac  Reed  commenced  his  labors  in  connection  with 
Bethany  Chvirch  in  Owen  county,  and  Avas  installed  in 
the  following  year.  About  the  time  of  Mr.  Reed's 
arrival,  David  C.  Proctor  became  stated  supply  for  a 
year  of  the  congregation  at  Indianapolis.  This  was 
now  made  the  permanent  seat  of  the  State  Government. 
In  the  autumn  of  1821  its  first  sale  of  lots  took  j^lace. 


1  Reed's  Christian  Traveller,  121.  ^  Ibid.  218. 


MISSIONS    IN    INDIANA,    1S10-18;!0.  403 

But  alrcad}" — a  few  weeks  previous — the  place  had  been 
visited  by  a  Presbyterian  minister,  O.  P.  Gaines,  who 
preached  the  first  Presbyterian  sermon  to  a  small  con- 
gregation. In  Ma}'  of  the  following  year,  Mr.  Proctoi-, 
missionary  of  the  Connecticut  Society,  preached  four 
or  five  sermons,  and  in  October  returned  to  commence 
his  labors  for  the  year.  In  July  (5),  1823,  he  had  the 
gratification  of  seeing  a  church  organized  with  fifteen 
members.  The  day  previous,  Mr.  Reed  had  preached 
to  the  little  handful  of  hearers  in  a  cabinet-maker's 
shop.  On  the  close  of  Mr.  Proctor's  year  of  service, 
Indianapolis  and  Bloomington  were  left  virtually  to 
the  care  of  Mr.  Reed  till  the  arrival  of  George  Bush 
in  1824. 

It  may  afford  some  idea  of  the  hardships  of  the  early 
ministers  to  state  the  circumstances  of  the  laborers  in 
this  field.  The  nearest  churches  were  those  of  Bethany 
in  Owen  county,  and  of  Bloomington.  The  former 
was  under  the  charge  of  Mr.  Reed,  and  the  latter, 
though  seventy  miles  distant  from  Indianapolis,  had 
one-fourth  of  Mr.  Proctor's  time.  At  Bethany  Mr. 
Reed  was  forced  to  labor  in  erecting  his  own  rude  log 
dwelling;  for  his  people  were  too  busied  with  their  own 
to  afford  him  the  necessary  aid.  With  all  his  efforts, 
much  was  still  lacking.  His  building  progressed  slowly, 
and  the  winter  commenced  early.  The  week  before 
Christmas  he  took  possession  of  it  with  his  family;  but 
it  Avas  without  a  loft,  and  there  was  "  no  plastering  of 
the  chinking  between  the  logs,  above  the  joist-plates." 
A  large  wooden  chimney-place  was  cut  out  of  the  end 
of  the  house  and  built  up  a  little  above  the  mantel- 
piece. And  yet  this  was  the  tenement  which  the  self- 
denying  missionar}'  loved  to  style,  in  his  correspondence, 
"  the  cottage  of  peace."^     When  forced  to  seek,  some 

1  Christian  Traveller,  139. 


404  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

3-ears  later,  a  new  settlement,  he  gave  among  his 
reasons  for  asking  a  dissolution  of  his  pastoral  relation 
the  fact  that  for  two  years  he  had  not  received  one 
dollar  in  money  toward  his  salary  from  his  people.^ 

The  church  at  Evansville  was  organized  in  1821, 
under  the  direction  of  D.  C.  Banks,  then  pastor  of  the 
Prcshyterian  Church  of  Henderson,  K}^*  The  original 
membership  was  but  ten  or  twelve,  and  for  several 
3^ears  there  was  but  a  small  increase.  The  congrega- 
tion had  no  house  of  worship,  and  the  church  was  as 
"  sheep  without  a  shepherd."  An  old  log  school-house 
on  the  lower  side  of  Locust  Street,  nearly  midway 
between  First  and  Second  Streets,  was  a  frequent  place 
of  meeting,  until  the  old  court-house  was  at  length 
occupied.  The  scene  when  the  congregation  met  was 
indeed  primitive.  There  was  no  flooring.  "  Puncheon 
seats"  were  placed  on  the  bare  ground.  The  fire  in 
winter  was  against  the  wall  in  a  poorly-formed  fire- 
place, and  the  smoke  sometimes  found  in  the  numerous 
accommodating  chinks  and  crannies  of  the  building  a 
moi-c  feasible  method  of  escape  than  the  chimney 
offered.  Till  1832,  the  nearest  Presbj^terian  church 
was  that  of  Princeton,  under  the  pastoral  care  of  Calvin 
Butler.  By  his  exertions,  a  house  of  worship  was 
erected  in  that  3'ear.  Eemoving  to  the  place,  he 
labored  as  pastor  till  1834.  His  successoi-s  were  Mr. 
McAfee  and  (1837)  J.  U.  Barnes. 

In  1824  the  Presbytery  of  Salem,'  embi'acing  most 
of  the  churches  of  the  State,  was  erected,  and  congre- 
gations began  to  be  more  rapidly  formed.     Bethlehem 

1  Christian  Traveller,  158.  ^  McCarer's  memorial  sermon. 

3  Salem  Church  was  organized  by  Samuel  Shannon,  Aug.  15, 
1817,  with  thirty  members,  and  was  first  called  Union  Church.  Its 
name  was  changed  to  Salem  in  1821.  Mr.  Shannon  was  its  first 
supply,  and  William  M.  Martin  its  first  pastor  (1818-29).  Franklin 
Church  was  formed  from  it. 


MISSIONg    IN    INDIANA,    lSlO-1830.  405 

Church,  in  the  southern  part  of  "Washington  county, 
was  formed  early  in  the  year;  that  in  Crawfordsville 
in  June,  and  New  Hope  Church,  on  the  Illinois  line, 
shortly  after.  Paris  Church  secured  the  services  of 
John  Young,  a  man  of  much  promise,  whose  untimely 
death  in  the  following  year  (1825)  was  felt  as  a  public 
calamity.  Shortly  after  this  (December)  Greenfield 
Church,  in  Johnson  county,  was  organized,  a  little  more 
than  two  years  after  the  arrival  of  the  first  two 
families  in  the  settlement. 

By  1825  the  population  of  the  State  had  increased 
to  not  far  from  two  hundred  thousand,  and  the  churches 
within  its  bounds  numbered  only  forty-three,  and  the 
ministers  but  ten,  of  whom  five  were  pastors,  two  of 
the  others  being  ordained.  Yet  there  w^as  evident  pro- 
gress. The  results  of  missionary  labor  began  to  be 
manifest,  although  the  destitution  which  still  continued 
and  was  extended  by  the  increasing  tide  of  immigra- 
tion almost  swallowed  them  up. 

Eetracing  our  course,  we  note  the  labors  of  the  mis- 
sionaries sent  out  into  this  field.  Those  of  Mr.  Flint 
during  his  short  stay  in  Indiana  were  quite  effective. 
Notwithstanding  the  prevalent  profanity,  the  deplora- 
ble ignorance,  and  the  fearful  Sabbath-breaking  which 
prevailed,  he  gathered  large  and  attentive  audiences. 
General  Harrison  threw  open  his  house  to  the  preachers. 
The  first  congregation  numbered  but  thirty;  the  second 
amounted  to  two  hundred.  "  The  serious,"  wrote  Mr. 
Flint,  "  everywhere  beg  me  to  represent  the  deplorable 
destitution  of  religious  instruction." 

Mr.  Derrow's  labors  were  not  in  vain.  In  the  course 
of  two  years  he  organized  several  churches  and  per- 
formed a  great  amount  of  itinerant  labor.  In  every 
instance  he  was  received  with  kindness  and  respect. 
There  was  a  growing  attention  to  the  institutions  of 
the  gospel,  and,  although  there  were  few  awakenings 


406  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

that  could  be  termed  revivals,  he  frequently  met  in- 
dividuals who  seemed  to  be  the  subjects  of  genuine  re- 
ligious experience. 

In  1820,  George  S.  Boardman  was  commissioned  for 
six  months  to  preach  at  Madison  and  the  adjoining 
settlements.  But,  finding  this  field  preoccupied  by 
Thomas  C.  Scarle,  sent  out  to  Indiana  b}'  the  Young 
Men's  Missionary  Society  of  New  York  and  settled  at 
Madison  with  very  favorable  prospects  of  usefulness, 
he  very  properly  directed  his  course  to  places  more 
destitute  of  the  means  of  grace.  He  itinerated  chiefly 
in  the  settlements  on  White  River  and  in  those  on  In- 
dian Kentucky  River.  On  White  River  he  found  the 
towns  new  and  flourishing.  A  church  had  been  organ- 
ized at  Bloomington,  a  county -seat;  and  near  it  was 
the  place  selected  for  the  University  of  Indiana.  At 
AVashington,  situated  at  the  junction  of  the  forks  of 
the  river,  he  found  a  Presbyterian  settlement.  Y'et  the 
region  had  been  visited  by  few  missionaries.  There 
were  no  settled  pastors.  The  land  was  overspread  with 
wickedness  and  with  "  the  gross  ei-rors  of  the  New- 
Lights  and  Dunkards."  It  claimed  the  special  atten- 
tion of  missionaries,  while  a  portion  of  its  inhabitants, 
aware  of  its  condition,  earnestly  entreated  that  some 
effort  might  be  made  to  stay  the  progress  of  error  and 
provide  them  with  a  few  at  least  of  the  privileges  of 
the  gospel. 

In  the  settlement  on  Indian  Kentucky  the  prospect 
was  more  hopeful.  Solemn  attention  was  given,  and 
tears  attested  the  depth  of  feeling  with  which  the  word 
was  heard.  Y'et  the  whole  State  was  represented  as 
claiming  special  attention  from  its  present  situation 
and  future  prospects.  Intemperance  prevailed  to  an 
alarming  extent.  Profanity,  frauds,  and  gaming  were 
common.  The  Sabbath  was  desecrated,— made  a  day 
of  idleness  and  pleasure. 


MISSIONS    IN    INDIANA,    lSlO-1830.  407 

Noi-  was  this  all.  The  country  was  alike  "  fertile  in 
tlic  productions  of  the  earth  and  of  error  '"  The  Method- 
ists, "  with  a  variety  of  contradictor}^  errors  in  opinion 
and  practice,"  were  the  prevailing  sect.  The  Baptists 
were  lax  in  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath,  the  support 
of  the  gospel,  and  regard  for  a  learned  ministry, — some 
of  thera  submerging  all  their  religion  in  immersion. 
New-Lightism — "the  moral  monster  of  the  West,"  a 
composite  of  all  various  errors — w^as  common.  The 
Dunkards,  who  were  numerous,  were  Universalists  or 
fanatics.  Yet  there  were  many  who  longed  for  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  missionary.  Tears  of  joy  and  grati- 
tude were  seen  upon  his  arrival,  and  tears  of  sorrow 
attended  his  departure.  It  was  obvious  that,  with  a 
rich  soil  and  a  healthiness  superior  to  Illinois,  Indiana 
was  destined  soon  to  "  become  rich  and  pow^erful." 

In  1821,  Adam  W.  Piatt  %vas  commissioned  by  the 
Assembly  to  labor  for  six  months  in  Indiana,  and  Wil- 
liam B.  Barton  was  appointed  for  the  same  period  to 
occupy  the  place  of  Mr.  Vancourt,  who  had  returned 
his  commission.  Half  of  Mr.  Barton's  time  was  de- 
voted to  Jefferson  Church,  in  which  a  revival  was  in 
progress :  the  rest  was  spent  in  tours,  some  within  the 
limits  of  Ohio.  Ludwell  G.  Gaines,  D.  C.  Banks,  and 
Thompson  S.  Harris  were  likewise  appointed  at  the 
same  time  with  Piatt  and  Barton  for  this  field. 

In  1822  the  appointments  of  the  Assembly's  Board  were 
John  Eoss  in  Western  Ohio  and  Eastern  Indiana,  James 
L.  Marshall  in  the  region  previously  visited  by  Messrs. 
Barton  and  Piatt,  Alexander  McCandless  for  four 
months  in  the  neighborhood  of  Indianapolis,  and  Thomas 
C.  Kennedy  for  the  same  period  on  the  line  between 
Indiana  and  Illinois.  Abraham  Williamson  and  Wil- 
liam H.  Stewart  were  to  labor  in  the  latter  State. 

In  the  following  year  the  Board  commissioned  Eev. 
N  Pittinger  to  labor  in  the  upper  part  of  Indiana,  John 


408  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

M  Dickey,  who  was  to  receive  half  his  compensation 
from  societies  in  that  region,  on  the  White  and  Wabash 
Rivers,  while  John  Ross  and  Alexander  McCandless  were 
10  occupy  their  fields  of  labor  of  the  previous  year. 

Few  and  scant  are  the  glimpses  which  we  obtain  of 
these  heroic  pioneers  of  Christian  civilization, — these 
heralds  of  the  gospel  to  the  few  feeble  settlements 
scattered  over  the  broad  wilderness.  But  sometimes 
a  journal  like  that  of  Joseph  Badger,  or  some  historical 
discourse  like  that  of  Fort  Wayne,^  falls  in  our  way, 
and  we  are  enabled  to  trace  some  of  the  hardships  to 
which  they  were  subjected.  John  Ross — better  known 
as  "Father"  Ross — discharged  his  mission  with  zeal 
and  fidelity.  Only  his  own  pen  could  fitly  describe  the 
peril  and  exposui-e  of  his  first  missionary  journey, — 
how  the  first  night's  encampment  in  the  woods  a  few 
miles  north  of  Dayton  was  made  memorable  by  the 
howling  of  wolves  on  every  side ;  how  the  snow-storm 
afterwards  met  them  in  the  wilderness  with  intense 
cold  which  froze  the  wheels  of  their  wagon  fast  in  the 
mud ;  how,  failing  to  strike  fire  from  the  flint,  the  woods- 
man's last  hope,  they  were  compelled  to  leave  their 
conveyance  under  the  guard  of  a  faithful  dogj  how,  by 
walking  and  leading  their  horses  when  the  intense  cold 
forbade  their  riding,  they  at  length  reached  Fort  Wayne 
at  a  late  hour  of  the  wintrj'  night  and  received  a  cordial 
welcome. 

The  next  day — Sunday — there  was  preaching  at  the 
fort;  for  no  other  convenient  place  could  be  found.  For 
five  successive  years, — from  1822  to  1826, — sometimes 
sent  out  by  the  Assembly  and  sometimes  b}^  the  Synod 
of  Ohio,  "Father"  Ross  visited  Fort  Wayne  and  the 
surrounding  region.    He  preached  in  St.  Mary's,  Shane's 

1  J.  L.Williams's  Historical  Sketch  of  the  Fii-stPresb^'terian  Church 
•f  Fort  AVayne. 


MISSIONS    IN    INDIANA,    1810-1830.  409 

Prairie,  and  Willshire,  scattering  religions  tracts  and 
Bil)les  on  his  wtiy.  Fort  Wayne  was  the  most  unpro- 
mising part  of  the  field.  Few  there  were  who  paid  any 
regard  to  the  Sabbath.  It  was  not  till  1831  that  a 
church  was  organized,  of  eleven  members. 

In  1824,  George  Bush  was  appointed  for  Indianapolis, 
where  he  soon  after  was  settled,  remaining  several  years; 
McCandless  for  the  counties  of  Wayne,  Union,  and  Fa- 
yette, and  T.  Scott  for  Sullivan,  Davis,  and  the  adjoining 
counties;  John  Young,  a  recent  graduate  of  Princeton 
Seminaxy,  took  the  place  of  Mr.  Searle  in  Indiana,'  and. 
together  with  Benjamin  F.  Spilman  and  Charles  Philips, 
was  to  devote  a  portion  of  his  time  to  the  destitutions 
of  Illinois.  The  church  at  Crawfordsville  was  organized 
the  same  year  by  Eev.  Isaac  Reed.  Rev.  James  Thomp- 
son was  the  first  jiastor. 

In  1825,  Isaac  A.  Ogden  and  John  Ross  were  commis- 
sioned to  labor  on  the  line  between  Ohio  and  Indiana. 
James  Stuart  was  to  visit  Urbana  in  Ohio,  and  thence 
proceed  to  labor  in  Rush,  Decatur,  Faj^ette,  Ilarden- 
burg,  and  Posey  counties.  J.  M.  Dickey  was  to  visit 
the  East  Fork  of  White  River.  Samuel  Gregg  was  to 
labor  in  the  counties  of  Bartholomew  and  Johnson,  and 
"William  Nesbit  in  those  of  Perry  and  Spence.  Samuel 
Taylor  was  to  spend  three  months  on  the  White  River, 
on  both  sides,  in  Morgan  count}^.  In  the  southern  part 
of  Illinois,  James  Kerr  was  commissioned  for  five  months ; 

^  Air.  John  Yoamg,  a  licentiate  under  the  care  of  the  General  As- 
sembly, came  to  the  State  in  1824,  and  spent  two  months  at  Madison. 
He  then  spent  six  months  on  the  west  of  the  Wabash,  and  died  on  the 
15th  of  August,  1825,  at  Vincennes,  whither  he  had  gone  to  attend  the 
meeting  of  the  Indiana  Missionary  Society.  Mr.  James  H.  Johnston, 
under  the  patronage  of  the  Domestic  Missionary  Society  of  New  York, 
came  to  the  State  in  company  with  Mr  Young,  and  succeeded  him  at 
Madison,  where  he  remained  until  1843,  then  removed  to  Crawforda- 
ville,  where  he  still  resides.     He  is  one  of  the  veterans. 

Vol.  II.— 35 


410  HISTORY   OP   PRESBYTERIANISM. 

in  the  eastern  part,  Jesse  Townsend  for  three;  while  at 
Shoal  Creek  and  vicinity  William  Wallace  was  to  devote 
six  months. 

The  churches  of  Indiana  and  Illinois  were  at  this 
period  connected  with  the  Sj'nod  of  Kentucky.  The 
members  of  Salem  Presbytery,^  within  the  bounds  of 
the  former  State,  were  AVilliam  Robinson,  Samuel  T. 
Scott,  John  M.  Dickey,  William  W.  Martin,  John  F. 
Crowe,  Isaac  Reed,  George  Bush,  Baynard  R.  Hall,  and 

1  The  original  members  of  Salem  Presbytery  (xVpril  1,  1824)  were 
Samuel  T.  Scott,  installed  at  Vinccnnes,  Aug.  5,  1825,  died  Dec.  20, 
1827;  John  Todd,  dismissed  to  West  Lexington  Presbytery,  April  5, 
1827  ;  John  M.  Dickey,  installed  pastor  of  Pisgah  and  New  Lexington 
Churches,  Aug.  1819,  set  off  to  ^^adi8on  Presbytery,  1825;  William 
W.  Martin,  of  Livonia;  Isaac  Reed,  of  Bethany  Church,  set  off  to 
Wabash  Presbytery  in  1825;  Jolui  F.  Crowe,  installed  over  Hanover 
Church,  Aug.  1823,  and  set  off  to  Madison  Presbytery,  Oct.  1825; 
and  William  llobinson,  who  died  March,  1827. 

The  subsequent  members  have  been  Joseph  Trimble,  died  Aug.  11, 
1824;  T.  H.  Brown,  ordained  and  installed  June  25, 1825,  over  Beth- 
lehem and  Blue  River  Churches  ;  George  Bush,  March  5,  1825;  Bay- 
nard R.  Hall,  settled  at  Bloomington,  April  13,  1825;  Alexander  Wil- 
liamson, settled  at  Charlestown,  July  3, 1825  ;  Stephen  Bliss,  ordained 
at  Vincennes,  Aug.  5,  1825;  J.  H.  Johnston,  settled  at  Madison,  Oct. 
20,  1825;  John  T.  Hamilton,  Oct.  8,  1825;  Samuel  E.  Blackburn, 
ordained  at  Jeffersonville,  Dec.  1,  1820,  dismissed  1828  ;  Calvin  But- 
ler, ordained  at  Princeton,  May,  1828  ;  Leander  Cobb,  Ashbel  S.  Wells, 
settled  at  New  Albany,  Dec.  18,  1828;  Benjamin  C.  Cressy,  James 
A.  Carnahan,  Samuel  K.  Sneed,  1831 ;  Michael  A.  Rawley,  April  7, 
1831  ;  Moody  Chase,  settled  at  Orleans,  June  7,  1833  ;  S.  Kittredge, 
ordained  at  Bedford,  June  19,  1834;  E.  P.  Humphrey,  ordained  at 
Jeffersonville,  Nov.  20,  1834;  Simeon  Salisbury,  Oct.  9,  1835;  P.  S. 
Cleland,  ordained  at  Jeffersonville,  Nov.  10,  183G  ;  Daniel  L.  Russell, 
Oct.  6,  1830;  James  AV.  Phillips,  Nov.  16,  1830;  John  L.  Martin, 
ordained  at  Livonia,  Nov.  25,  1837  ;  W.  C.  Anderson,  April  5,  1838; 
E.  R.  Martin,  ordained  at  Salem,  Oct.  5,  1838;  Calvin  N.  Ransom, 
Oct.  4,  1838;  Charles  R.  Fisk,  Oct.  4;  J.  R.  Barnes,  Oct.  11  ;  W.  C. 
Rankin,  Oct.  11 ;  Alexander  McPherson,  ordained  at  Brownstown, 
April  3,  1840. — J-  M.  B.,  in  Indiana  Christian  Herald. 


MISSIONS    IN    INDIANA,    1810-1830.  411 

John  Todd.  In  Illinois,  Charles  Philips  was  settled  as 
pastor  at  Shawneetown,  and  B.  F.  Spilman  at  Carmi, 
both  in  connection  Avith.  the  Presbytery  of  Muhlenburg. 

Although  several  churches  were  often  under  the  car© 
of  one  pastor,  the  vacancies  outnumbered  the  places 
which  enjoyed  pastors  in  the  ratio  of  four  to  one.  Of 
the  thirty-seven  Presbyterian  churches  under  the  care 
of  Salem  Presbytery,  thirty  were  vacant.  Most  of  these 
bad  been  organized  within  the  preceding  five  years. 
Only  four  at  this  period  consisted  of  more  than  fifty 
members.  These  were  the  churches  at  Madison,  Jeifer- 
i^on,  Charleston,  and  Sand  Creek.  Columbus  and  Wa- 
bash numbered  but  fifteen  each,  New  Providence  but 
thirteen,  and  Crawfordsville  but  nine.  All  the  others 
ranged  variously  between  these  extremes, — Indianapolis 
and  Rushville  each  numbering  twenty-five,  Bloomington 
thirtj",  Dartmouth  thirty-three,  Hopewell  thirty-three, 
Washington  forty-seven,  New  Hof>e  forty-nine,  Graham 
forty-six,  and  Shiloh  forty-two.  Most  of  the  eight  or 
ten  churches  in  Illinois,  connected  either  with  the  Pres- 
bj-tery  of  Muhlenburg  or  that  of  Missouri,  were  feeble 
and  destitute  of  pastoral  labor.  The  one  at  Alton 
numbered  but  seven,  and  the  one  at  Kaskaskia  but 
thirteen,  members. 

But  from  that  period  the  growth  of  the  churches 
was  more  rapid;  although  it  could  scai^cety  be  said  to 
keep  pace  with  the  population.  The  Home  Missionary 
Society  sent  out  quite  a  number  of  missionaries  into 
the  region.  The  missionaries  of  the  Assembly  were, 
in  1826,  S.  G.  Lowry  in  Delaware  and  Rush  counties, 
Isaac  A.  Ogden  in  Union,  Franklin,  and  Fayette  counties, 
Josejih  Robinson  in  Bartholomew  and  Shelb}^  counties, 
and  John  Ross  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  State;  in  1827, 
Messrs.  Ogden,  Lowry,  and  James  Thompson, — the  latter 
of  whom,  at  the  earnest  request  of  Judge  Dunn,  elder 
of  Crawfordsville  Church,  deviated  from  his  instructions 


412  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

to  visit  that  place,  where  he  was  soon  after  settled  for 
half  his  time,  devoting  the  rest  to  feeble  congregations, 
— while  William  J.  Frazer  was  commissioned  for  Illinois; 
in  1828,  Messrs.  Lowry,  Gaines,  Ogden,  lioss,  and  P. 
Montford  for  Indiana,  and  Benjamin  F.  Spilman  for 
Southeastern  Illinois. 

In  1825  tfie  Presbytery  of  Salem  was  divided  to  erect 
those  of  Madison  and  Wabash;  and  in  1826  the  Synod 
of  Indiana  was  erected.  In  1828  the  Presbytery  of 
Centre  of  Illinois  was  erected  by  setting  off  a  portion 
of  Wabash ;  and  in  1829  the  Synod  consisted  of  five 
Presbyteries,  including  the  Presbj'tery  of  Missouri.  In 
that  year  the  Presbytery  of  Crawfordsville  was  erected 
from  a  portion  of  Wabash,  and  in  1830  Indianapolis 
from  Madison  and  Crawfordsville.  In  1830  the  ministers 
within  the  State  numbered  about  thirty-four,  and  the 
churches  about  eighty-four,  with  a  membership  not  far 
short  of  three  thousand. 

In  1837  the  strength  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
within  the  State  was  represented  by  the  Presbyteries 
of  Salem,  Vincennes,'  Madison,  Crawfordsville,  Indian- 
apolis, Logansport,^  and  a  portion  of  Oxford.  The  first 
had  eight  ministers  and  twenty  churches,  the  second 
nine  ministers  and  nineteen  churches,  the  third  fourteen 
ministers  and  sixteen  churches,  the  fourth  fourteen 
ministers  and  nineteen  churches,  the  fifth  ten  ministers 
and  twentj^-two  churches,  the  sixth  seven  ministers  and 
sixteen  churches;  while  in  connection  with  Oxford 
Presbytery  were  some  seven  Indiana  ministers  and  ten 
churches,  making  an  aggregate  of  sixty-nine  ministers 
and  one  hundred  and  twenty-two  churches,  of  which 
the  aggregate  membership  was  not  far  short  of  five 
thousand. 


1  Name  changed  from  Wabash  in  1830. 
*  Erected  from  Crawfordsville,  1835. 


MISSIONS    IN    INDIANA,    1810-1830.  "413 

The  principal  ministers  in  the  field  were — W.  W.  Mar- 
tin, stated  supply  of  Livonia;  Samuel  K.  Sneed,  stated 
supply  of  New  Albany;  Leander  Cobb,  stated  supply  at 
Charlestown ;  Solomon  Kittredge,  at  Bedford;  James 
W.  Phillips,  at  Corydon ;  Philip  S.  Cleland,  pastor  at 
Jeifersonville;  Thomas  Alexander,  stated  supply  of  Yin- 
cennes;  Samuel  R.  Alexander,  pastor  of  Indiana  Church; 
Calvin  Butler,  stated  supply  of  Washington ;  Ransom 
Hawley,  of  Bloomington ;  Matthew  Gr.  Wallace,  of  Terre 
Haute;  Andrew  Wylie,  President  of  the  institution  at 
Bloomington;  Drs.  James  Blythe,  John  Matthews,  John 
F.  Crowe,*  and  Professors  George  Bishop  and  M.  H.  H. 
Niles,  all  at  South  Hanover;  John  M.  Dickey,  pastor  at 
Pisgah  ;  Daniel  Lattimore,  of  Paris  and  Graham;  Wil- 
liam C.  Matthews,  of  the  First,  and  James  H.  Johnson, 
of  the  Second,  Church  of  Madison;  James  Humner,  of 
Jefferson  ;  William  J.  Monteith,  of  Port  William;  Presi- 
dent Baldwin  and  Professor  Hovey,  of  Wabash  College, 
Crawfordsville;  S.  H.  McNutt,  pastor  of  Rockville; 
James  Thompson,  of  Crawfordsvilie;  James  H.  Shields, 
of  Poplar  Spring ;  John  Crawford,  of  Coal  Creek ;  John 
Todd,  of  Eagle  Creek  and  South  Marion;  David  Mont- 
fort.^  of  Franklin;  John  S  .  Weaver,  of  Sand  Creek; 

1  Dr.  John  F.  Crowe  was  a  native  of  Tennessee,  where  he  was  born  in 
1787.  His  studies  were  pursued  at  Transylvania  University  and  at 
Princeton.  He  was  ordained  by  Louisville  Presbytery,  and  preached 
at  Shelbyville  from  1816  till  1823,  when  he  settled  at  Hanover,  In- 
diana. At  the  request  of  Salem  Presbytery,  he  opened  a  grammar- 
school,  which  was  the  nucleus  of  Hanover  College.  This  institution 
was  greatly  indebted  to  him.  He  was  judicious,  discriminating, 
patient,  and  persevering.  He  was  eminent  as  a  teacher  and  beloved 
as  a  pastor.     His  death  occurred  Jan.  17,  1860. 

^  Dr.  David  Montfort,  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  a  Huguenot  by 
descent,  was  born  in  1790.  In  1817  he  completed  his  theological 
course  at  Princeton,  and  in  the  following  year  was  settled  over 
Bethel  Church  in  Oxford  Presbytery.  In  1829  he  joined  Wabash 
Presbytery  and  supplied  the  church  at  Terre  Haute.     The  next  year 


414  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

Eliphalet  Kent,  of  Greenfield;  James  W.  McKennan,' 
of  Indianapolis;  David  M.  Stewart,  of  Eushville;  David 
V.  Smock,  of  Knightstown  ;  M.  M.  Post,  of  Logansport  j 
Michael  Humner,  of  La  Faj^ette;  James  A.  Carnahan, 
of  Dayton;  Samuel  Newbury,  of  Peru;  and  John 
Stocker,  of  Montieello. 

The  earliest  notice  taken  of  Illinois  as  a  missionary 
field  occurs  in  1816.  For  several  years  most  of  those 
who  were  sent  into  this  region  were  directed  to  itine- 
rate also  in  Indiana.  The  names  of  several  of  these 
have  been  already  mentioned  in  connection  with  the 
latter  field.  In  1816,  Backus  Wilbur  was  commissioned 
to  itinerate  for  two  months  from  the  mouth  of  the  Wa- 
bash to  Kaskaskia,  where  he  was  principally  to  labor. 
Samuel  Brown  also,  on  his  way  to  Missouri,  was  to  pass 
through  Indiana  and  Illinois  Territories,  laboring  at 
discretion.  William  Wylie  received  similar  directions. 
In  1817,  John  F.  Crowe  w^as  commissioned  to  devote 
three  months  to  Illinois  Territory,  and  Eliphalet  W, 
Gilbert  was  to  devote  six  months  to  Shawneetown,  Kas- 
kaskia, and  adjacent  places.  Sylvester  Earned,  on  his 
way  to  his  chosen  field  in  New  Orleans,  was  directed 
to  pass  through  Vineennes  and  Kaskaskia. 

he  supplied  Sharon  Church,  Ohio,  and  in  1830  commenced  a  pas- 
torate of  twenty  years  at  Franklin,  Indiana.  His  death  occurred 
in  1860. 

Samuel  Baldridge,  a  native  of  North  Carolina,  a  compeer  of  Gideon 
Blackburn,  licensed  by  Abington  Presbytery  in  1802,  was  one  of  the 
most  worthy  pioneers  of  the  West.  He  practised  medicine  to  sup- 
port his  family,  preaching  on  the  frontier,  organizing  churches  in 
Ohio  and  Indiana.  In  1830  he  had  a  stroke  of  paralysis,  but  sur- 
vived till  1860. 

1  In  1835,  James  Wilson  McKennan,  a  native  of  Washington,  Pa., 
was  called  to  the  pastorate  of  the  church  of  Indianapolis.  He  was 
here,  however,  but  a  few  years  before  his  health  failed.  Simple, 
direct,  devoted,  meek,  humble,  faithful,  and  fervent,  he  was  worthy 
of  love  and  respect.     His  death  occurred  July  16,  1861. 


MISSIONS   IN    ILLINOIS,    1810-1830,  415 

Mr.  Crowe,  on  his  return  to  Kentucky,  published  a 
short  account  of  his  journey.  He  found  the  inhabitants 
very  destitute  of  moral  and  religious  instruction,  and 
the  state  of  society  in  many  instances  very  deplorable. 
The  population  of  the  twelve  counties  of  the  Territory 
was  about  fifty  thousand,  among  whom  were  a  few  Bap- 
tist and,  in  connection  with  circuits  in  some  of  the  prin- 
cipal settlements,  some  Methodist  preachers,  but  not  a 
single  Presbyterian  minister.  The  Dunkards  had  a 
societ}' on  the  Mississippi,  and  the  "Christians"  were 
orcranizinff  churches  on  the  Wabash.  At  Kaskaskia 
the  desire  was  expressed  by  several  respectable  citizens 
that  they  might  have  a  clergyman  settled  among  them.^ 

In  1818,  Samuel  Graham  and  Benjamin  Low  were 
sent  to  Illinois,  each  to  labor  mainly  on  the  line  of  the 
Ohio  and  its  tributaries  for  six  months.  The  latter 
was  a  graduate  of  Princeton  College  in  1814,  and,  after 
completing  his  theological  course,  had  visited  the  West- 
ern field.  In  January,  ISIS,'*  he  was  at  Edwardsville, 
having  performed  a  tour  of  labor  in  portions  of  the 
State.  After  a  fjivorable  journey  of  thirty-nine  days, 
he  reached  Shawneetown,  eight  miles  below  the  mouth 
of  the  Wabash,  Nov.  20, 1817.  Among  its  two  or  three 
hundred  inhabitants  there  Avas  not  a  single  soul  that 
"  made  any  pretensions  to  religion."  "  Their  shocking 
profaneness  was  enough  to  make  one  afraid  to  walk 
the  street;  and  those  who  on  the  Sabbath  were  not 
fighting  and  di-inking  at  the  taverns  and  grog-shops 
were  either  hunting  in  the  woods  or  trading  behind 
their  counters."  A  small  audience  gathered  to  hear 
the  missionary  preach;  but  even  a  laborer  who  could 
devote  his  whole  time  to  the  field  "  might  almost  as 
soon  expect  to  hear  the  stones  cry  out"  as  to  effect  a 
revolution  in  the  morals  of  the  place.     The  lower  part 

1  Christian  Herald,  iv.  329.  •  2  Ibid.  v.  753. 


416  HISTORY   OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

of  the  State  was  settled  chiefly  by  emigrants  from 
Kentucky  and  Tennessee  and  the  northern  parts  of 
Georgia  and  Carolina.  The  upper  part  contained  a 
much  larger  proj^ortion  of  people  from  the  Eastern  and 
Middle  States.'  Of  the  five  hundred  inhabitants  of 
Kasliaskia,  one-half  were  French  and  Roman  Catholics. 
Among  the  other  half  were  six  professors  of  religion, — 
two  Presbyterians,  two  Methodists,  one  Congregation- 
alist,  and  one  Seceder.  The  Sabbath  was  scarcely  re- 
cognized :  yet  many  families  in  the  town  wei*e  anxious 
for  the  gospeb 

At  Edwardsville,  eighty  miles  north  of  Kaskaskia, 
was  a  population  of  about  three  hundred.  Within  a 
radius  from  this  point  of  from  twelve  to  thii-ty  miles 
were  Shoal  Creek,  Sugar  Creek,  Belleville,  Silver  Creek, 
Cahokia,  Alton,  and  Mouth  of  Illinois,  at  each  of  which 
places  an  audience  of  from  thirty  to  fifty  could  be  col- 
lected. For  the  winter,  Mr.  Low  devoted  himself  to 
this  field. 

In  1819  the  appointments  of  the  Board  of  Missions 
for  Illinois  wei-e  Samuel  Graham,  who  was  to  labor 
chiefly  at  Edwardsville,  and  two  other  missionaries  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Edwardsville  and  Shawneetown. 
The  New  York  Evangelical  Missionary  Society  had 
also  sent  out  the  Rev.  David  Tenny,  who  was  the  first 
of  those  appointed  to  i*each  the  field.  In  a  State  "of 
not  less  than  sevent}^  thousand  inhabitants,"  while  the 
influx  of  settlers  into  it  was  "perhaps  without  a  paral- 
lel," he  was  for  a  while  the  only  Presbyterian  minister 
on  the  ground,  and  a  portion  of  his  time  was  devoted 
to  the  wants  of  Missouri.  It  was  in  the  early  summer 
of  1819  that  he  began  his  labors  in  the  region  of  Kas- 
kaskia, and  in  the  latter  part  of  October  of  the  same 

'  The  report  of  Mr.  Tenny  in  the  ensuing  year  speaks  of  large 
numbers  of  emigrants  from  New  York  State.  —  Chris.  Herald,  vol.  vi. 


MISSIONS    IN    ILLINOIS,    1810-1830.  417 

year  his  course  was  brought  to  a  close  by  his  early 
death.  A  graduate  of  Harvard  in  1815,  he  devoted 
himself  with  a  glowing  zeal  to  the  cause  of  missions, 
and  the  promise  of  usefulness  wliich  he  had  already 
given  aggravated  the  sorrow  felt  for  his  loss.^ 

In  1820,  Abraham  Williamson  was  commissioned  to 
labor  for  six  months  at  Kaskaskia,  Edwardsville,  and 
adjacent  places.  The  next  year  he  was  reappointed 
for  the  same  period,  his  field  to  be  selected  at  his  own 
discretion,  and  William  H.  Stuart  was  appointed  for 
two  months.  In  1823  no  ajipointments  were  made  for 
Illinois;  but  in  1824  Benjamin  F.  Spilman  and  Charles 
Philips  were  sent  out.  In  Green  county  was  a  single 
church,  which  offered  a  clergyman  one  hundred  and 
fifty  dollars  for  half  his  time.  In  the  county  north 
there  Avas  a  call  for  the  formation  of  three  churches. 
In  Bond  county  was  a  church  which  offered  two  hun- 
dred dollars  to  secure  a  pastor.  In  Madison  county 
were  four  churches,  in  St.  Clair  county  one,  and  in 
Randolph  county  one;  while  in  the  eastern  part  of  the 
State  were  two  churches  connected  with  Presbyteries 
outside  its  bounds. 

In  1825  the  only  Presbyterian  ministers  in  Illinois 
who  sustained  the  pastoral  relation  were  Benjamin  F. 
Spilman  at  Carmi  and  Charles  Philips  at  Shawnee- 
town.  The  first  of  these  was  born  in  Garrard  county, 
K3^,  in  1796,  and  the  scenes  of  his  early  life  w^ere 
adapted  to  foster  the  training  essential  to  the  energy 
and  success  of  a  pioneer  missionary.  In  1822  he  was 
graduated  at  Jefferson  College,  Pa.,  and  in  the  follow- 
ing year,  after  studying  theology  with  Dr.  Wilson,  of 
Chillicothe,  he  was  licensed  to  preach  by  Chillicothe 
Presbytery.  In  1824  he  was  ordained  and  installed 
pastor   of  Sharon   Church,  111.,  and,  on    commencing 

1  Christian  Herald,  \i.  351. 


418  HISTORY    or    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

here  his  missionary  labors,  became  an  itinerant  in 
Middle  and  Southern  Illinois,  devoting  his  time  mainly 
to  the  counties  bordering  on  the  Ohio  and  Wabash 
Rivers.^  In  1826  he  organiiied  the  church  of  Shawnee- 
town,  where  some  eighteen  years  afterward  he  was 
settled  as  pastor.  Till  1832,  when  the  "Old  Log" 
Church  was  erected,  the  congregation  was  forced  to 
occupy  warehouses  and  private  dwellings. 

In  1826,  John  M.  Ellis,  sent  out  by  the  American 
Home  Missionary  Society,  commenced  his  labors  within 
the  bounds  of  the  State.  He  found  Madison  and  Mont- 
gomery counties  on  the  northern  frontier  of  settlement.* 
The  "  Sangamon"  county  had  been  but  just  explored. 
Although  combining  on  a  magnificent  scale  "the  beau- 
ties of  the  alluvial  meadow,  the  aristocratic  park,  and 
the  most  gorgeous  flower-garden,"  it  was  yet  Avaiting 
the  advent  of  civilized  and  Christian  enterprise.  At 
this  time  there  were  within  the  State  but  three  Presby- 
terian ministers  beside  himself, — one  of  these,  John 
Erich,  English  by  birth  and  education,  who  was  quite 
advanced  in  years,  but  resided  on  a  farm  near  Jackson- 
sonville  and  labored  merely  as  stated  supply ;  another, 
Stephen  Bliss,  a  licentiate  of  Salem  Presbytery,  In- 
diana, and  who,  laboring  in  Wabash  county,  was  con- 
nected with  the  Presbj^tery  of  Wabash;  and  the  thii^d, 
Mr.  Spilman,  Avho  was  in  the  same  connection. 

Mr.  Ellis  first  commenced  his  labors  at  Kaskaskia, 
where  a  feeble  Presbyterian  church  had  been  in  exist- 
ence for  several  j^cai's.  But  in  1827  John  Matthews, 
who  had  been  for  some  time  settled  in  Missouri,  removed 
to  this  place,'  where  he  remained,  serving  the  church 
and  at  the  same  time  itinerating  as  a  missionar}^,  for 

1  Wilson's  Presb.  Hist.  Almannc,  1860,  p.  78. 

2  President  Sturtevant's  Quaiter-Century  Celebration  of  Illinois 
College,  p.  8. 

3  Wilson's  Presb.  Hist.  Almanac,  1862,  p.  102. 


MISSIONS    IN    ILLINOIS,    1810-1S30.  419 

some  eight  or  ten  years.  To  eke  out  a  meagre  support, 
he  sometimes  engaged  in  teaching,  and  at  other  times 
labored  on  the  farm. 

Meanwhile,  three  small  churches  had  been  organized 
along  the  line  of  Shoal  Creek,^ — Bethel,  Shoal  Creek, 
and  Greenville.  To  Jacksonville — where  a  feeble  con- 
gregation worshipped  ordinarily  in  Judge  Leeper's 
barn — Mr.  Ellis  removed  in  1828,  his  mind  already 
teeming  with  the  project  which  eventuated  in  tlio 
founding  of  Illinois  College  at  Jacksonville.  But,  while 
he  was  meditating  upon  this  favorite  plan,  the  provi- 
dence of  God  had  directed  the  thoughts  of  several 
j-oung  men  in  the  theological  department  of  Yale  Col- 
lege into  a  similar  channel.  A  correspondence  Avas 
opened  with  Mr.  Ellis,  and  the  result  was  that,  early  in 
1829,  seven  3'oung  men  of  the  Theological  Seminary  at 
New  Haven  were  found  prepared  to  subscribe  their 
names  to  a  solemn  pledge  to  one  another  and  to  God  to 
devote  themselves  to  the  cause  of  Christ  in  the  then 
little-known,  distant,  and  wild  State  of  Illinois.  These 
men  were  Mason  Grosvenor,  Theron  Baldwin,  John 
F.  Brooks,  Elisha  Jenne3^  William  Kirby,  Asa  Turner, 
and  J.  M.  Sturtevant,  all  of  whom — except  the  first, 
detained  by  ill  health — migrated  to  Illinois  on  the  com- 
pletion of  their  theological  course.^ 


1  Solomon  Hardy,  sent  out  by  the  United  Domestic  Missionary 
Society,  commenced  liis  labors  at  Shoal  Creek  about  January,  1828. 

2  The  plan  of  founding  a  college  in  the  far  West  had,  several 
years  before  this,  been  conceived  by  one  of  these  young  men  (Mason 
Grosvenor,  now  of  Ohio).  Before  entering  the  Theological  Seminai-y, 
and  while  engaged  as  a  teacher,  he  had  projected  such  an  institu- 
tion, with  which  a  seminary  for  theological  students  was  to  be  con- 
nected. Soon  after  he  entered  upon  his  studies  at  New  Haven,  the 
project  was  revived  by  hearing  an  essay  "On  forming  and  executing 
liigb  and  noble  pbiiis  of  usefulness,"  read  by  a  fellow-student 
(Theron  Baldwin)  beiorc   the  missionary  association.     In  reading 


420  HISTORY    OF    PllESBYTERIANISM. 

Mr.  Baldwin  commenced  his  labors  at  Yandalia  as 
stated  supply,  with  a  church  of  some  eight  or  ten  mem- 
bers. John  F.  Brooks  located  at  Belleville,  where 
(1832)  a  church  was  organized  of  twelve  members. 
Asa  Turner  (1832)  became  stated  supply  at  Quiucy, 
where  a  church  was  gathered  of  thirty-four  mcmbei's. 
J.  M.  Sturtevant  became  professor  of  the  newl^'-founded 
Illinois  College,  over  which  Edward  Beecher,  from 
Boston,  had  been   called   to  preside.     William   Kirby 


the  "Home  Missionary  Journal,"  with  a  view  of  fixing  upon  a  loca- 
tion for  the  college,  he  fell  upon  a  letter  of  Mr.  Ellis  respecting  a 
contemplated  seminary  at  Jacksonville.  He  wrote  to  him  imme- 
diately, drawing  out,  his  plan  of  a  college,  mentioning  it  at  the 
.same  time  to  his  brother  (David  A.  Grosvenor),  who  was  a  fellow- 
student  and  room-mate.  It  was  I'esolved  between  them  that  while 
they  had  a  mother  and  sister  dependent  on  them  one  must  remain 
at  home,  while  the  other  might  engage  in  the  mission-work.  The 
brother  who  had  conceived  the  plan,  on  studying  the  map,  satisfied 
himself  that  Jacksonville  was  the  proper  site  for  the  institution, 
and  resolved  to  engage  in  it.  He  unfolded  Jiis  plan  to  members  of 
the  senior  class  in  the  seminary,  and  enlisted  them  in  his  project. 
The  result  was  that  the  seven  young  men  above  named  were  found 
prepared  to  subscribe  their  names  to  a  solemn  pledge  to  one  another 
and  to  God  to  engage  in  missionary  labor  in  the  new  State  of  Hli- 
nois.  These,  with  three  men  already  on  the  ground,  were  in  the 
charter  of  the  college  at  Jacksonville  named  as  the  first  trustees: 
and  all  of  the  seven  except  the  first-named — detained  by  ill 
health,  but  subsequently  connccled  with  the  college — went  tc 
niinois. 

Dr.  Taylor,  their  theological  teacher,  warmly  sympnthized  with 
the  project  of  the  young  men;  although  his  gratification  at  the 
promise  of  usefulness  which  it  afforded  was  clouded  by  the  regret 
that  the  churches  of  New  England  would  be  <leprived  of  their  ser- 
vices. From  him  they  received  encouragement,  and  from  President 
Day  they  derived,  especially,  suggestions  of  practical  wisdom  which 
were  embodied  in  the  basis  of  their  proposed  institution.  In  the 
course  of  three  months,  with  the  aid  of  Mr.  Ellis,  the  sum  of  tea 
thousand  dollars  was  raised  to  execute  the  project. 


MISSIONS    IN    ILLINOIS,    1810-1830.  421 

likewise  avus  called  to  occupy  the  post  of  professor  in 
tlie  same  insiitution. 

In  1829,  when  the  graduates  of  New  Haven  reached 
Illinois,  they  found  themselves  preceded  by  several 
laborers,  Avho  had  followed  Mr.  Ellis.  John  G.  Bergen 
was  stated  supply  at  Sangamon  and  Edwardsville,  each 
with  a  church  of  between  thirty  and  forty  members. 
Solomon  Hardy  had  been  settled  as  pastor  of  the 
churches  of  Shoal  Creek  and  Greenville, — the  former 
with  fifty  and  the  latter  with  twenty-nine  members. 
Thomas  A.  S])ilman^  had  charge  of  the  churches  of 
Hillsborough  and  Bethel, — the  former  with  six  and  the 
latter  with  fifty-four  members, — while  the  churches  of 
Golconda,  Vandalia,  Collinsville,  Paris,  Fulton,  Carrol- 
ton,  Franklin,  Fairfield,  and  perhaps  a  few  others,  were 
vacant. 

In  the  course  of  the  year,  Thomas  Lippencott,  a 
licentiate  of  the  Presbytery,  became  stated  supply  of 
Jidwardsville,  Collinsville,  and  Sugar  Creek;  and  Cyrus 
L.  Watson,  another  licentiate,  became  stated  supply  of 
Eusliville  Church,  with  twelve  members.  In  the  follow- 
ing year  (1830-31),  Horace  Smith  became  stated  supply 
of  Fulton  Church,  with  from  fifteen  to  tAventy  mem- 
bers, John  McDonald  commenced  his  labors  at  Union 
Grove,  Benoni  Y.  Messenger  took  charge  of  Edwards- 
ville and  Sugar  Creek  (part  of  Mr.  Lippencott's  field), 
"William  J.  Frazer  became  stated  supply  of  the  recentlj'-- 
formed  Providence  Church,  and  Henry  Herrick  sup- 
]»lied  the  church  of  Carrolton,  then  numbering  but 
twelve  members. 

In  the  next  year  (1831-32),  Aratus  Kent  commenced 
laboring  as  stated  supply  at  Galena,  the  church  then 
numbering   six    members,  Lucian   Farnum   at  Fulton, 

1  Ordained  in  1827,   died   1858,  aged  sixty  ;  at  the  time  of  his 
death  a  member  of  Sangamon  Presbytery. 
Vni    TT_36 


422  HISTORY    OF   PRESBYTERIANISM. 

where  forty-two  out  of  the  fifty-eight  members  were 
added  during  the  year,  and  Albert  Hale  at  Bethel 
(Greenville  post-office),  whei-e  the  church,  with  one  hun- 
dred and  eleven  members,  had  become  the  largest  in 
the  State.  Romulus  Barnes,  Calvin  W.  Babbit,  and  John 
Montgomery  had  also — although  not  permanently  lo- 
cated— entered  the  field;  while  Mr.  Frazer  had  removed 
to  the  charge  of  Union  Church,  near  Jacksonville,  and 
Theron  Baldwin,  who  had  become  a  missionary  agent, 
had  been  succeeded  at  Vandalia  by  William  E.  Stewart 

The  four  years  from  1833  to  1837  were  to  the  churches 
in  Illinois  a  season  of  rapid  growth.  The  Pi-esbyterics, 
numbering  eight,  had  under  their  care  nearl}-  one  hun- 
dred churches,  while  the  ministers,  many  of  them  sent 
out  by  the  Home  Missionary  Society,  numbered  not  far 
from  sixty.  The  church  of  Hillsborough  numbered  one 
hundred  and  ten  ;  the  First  and  Second  of  Springfield, 
each  a  little  more  than  sixty;  the  church  of  Ottawa, 
E.  W.  Gridley  pastor,  sixty-one;  Galesburg,  G.  W.  Gale 
stated  supply,  eighty-three;  Macomb,  William  K.  Stew- 
art stated  supply,  ninety-nine;  Canton,  Eobert  Stewart 
stated  supply,  one  hundred  and  eighty-seven. 

Among  those  who  during  this  period  entered  the 
field  to  strengthen  the  hands  of  the  pioneer  mission- 
aries were  Eoswell  Brooks;  Dewey  Whitney,  Second 
Church,  Springfield;  Alexander  Ewing,  Irish  Grove; 
Flavel  Bascom,  Tazewell;  Lemuel  Foster, Bloomington; 
Thomas  Gait,  Farmington ;  Nahum  Gould,  Union  Grove; 
Nathaniel  C.  Clark,  Big  and  Little  Woods;  Heman  S. 
Colton,  Elisha  II.  Hazard;  Jeremiah  Porter,  Chicago;^ 
John  H.  Prentiss ;  Jonathan  G.  Porter;  Warren  Nichols, 
Eobert  B.  Dobbins,  Bennington;  Cyrus  Eiggs;  L.  G. 
Bell;  Solomon  S.  Miles;  George  G.  Sill;  Samuel  Wilson; 

1  In  1812,  Chicago  was  the  place  of  an  abandoned  garrison.  As 
an  Indian  trading-post,  it  collected  some  sixty  or  seventy  persons 
in  1823. — Eighty  Years'  Progress,  i.  177. 


MISSIONS    IN    MISSOURI,    1810-1830.  423 

Solomon  Hovey ;  Reuben  Iv.  McKay;  Isaac  Keller,  First 
Cbureli,  Peoria/  Ephraim  P.  Noel,  and  some  few  others 
connected  with  Presbyteries  which  made  no  reports  to 
the  Assembly.  The  entire  membership  of  all  the  Pres- 
b^-terian  churches  within  the  State  was  (1837)  not  far 
from  two  thousand  five  hundred,  averaging  about 
twenty-five  to  each  chui'ch. 

The  first  missionary  labors  in  Missouri  are  due  to  the 
influence  exerted  by  the  Southwestern  tours  of  Samuel 
J.  Mills,  and  his  associates,  Schermerhorn  and  Smith. 
With  the  former  of  these,  Salmon  Giddings  at  this 
period  (1815)  bad  formed  an  intimate  acquaintance. 
He  was  a  tutor  in  Williams  College,  and  had  just  been 
licensed  to  preach.  In  repeated  conversations  with 
Mills,  he  had  been  brought  to  the  determination  to 
follow  his  track  into  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi  and 
make  St.  Louis  a  point  in  his  evangelical  labors.  The 
Trustees  of  the  Connecticut  Missionary  Society,  learning 
his  intentions,  sent  him  a  commission  to  labor  in  the 
"  Western  country."  In  December,  1815,  he  commenced 
his  journey  on  horseback  to  visit  it,  preaching  Sabbaths, 
and  often  Aveekdays,  on  his  way.  His  experience  on 
the  route  was  but  the  anticipation  of  what  he  was  to 
meet  on  reaching  his  destination.  He  slept  in  log 
cabins,  shared  the  humble  fare  of  their  inmates,  con- 
versed with  them  as  opportunity  offered  on  religious 
subjects,  and,  like  a  man  of  good  common  sense  as  he 
was,  made  himself  at  home  everj'where,  taking  care  of 
his  own  horse.     On  April  6,  1816,  he  reached  St.  Louis. 

The  field  upon  wdiich  he  had  entered  was  by  no  means 
an  inviting  one.  The  population  was  largely  French 
and  Roman  Catholic.  Tliere  were  but  two  or  three  pro-' 
fcssed  Presbyterians  in  the  place.    Protestant  ministers 

1  Then  with  eleven  members.  The  Main  Street  Church  num- 
bered thirty-five. 


421  HISTORY    OF    rRESBYTERlANlSM. 

were  rarely  seen  and  Protestant  preachers  rarely  heard 
An  itinerant  Methodist  "  perliaps  once  a  month"  offici- 
ated at  the  court-house.  It  was  not  till  1814  that  Messrs. 
S.  J.  Mills  and  Daniel  Smith,  sent  out  by  the  Philadel- 
phia Bible  and  Missionary  Societies,  had  visited  the 
jilace.^  Their  presence  awakened  much  interest.  The 
people  were  pleased,  and  urged  Mr.  Smith  to  remain 
among  them.  This  he  was  unable  to  do;  but  the  visit 
was  fruitful  in  good  results.  It  cheered  the  heart  and 
streno-thened  the  hands  of  one  faithful  and  devoted 
layman  whose  name  is  forever  identified  with  the  early 
history  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Missouri.  This 
was  Stephen  Hempstead,  a  native  of  New  London, 
Conn.,  and  at  this  time  sixty  j-ears  of  age.  Ho  had 
served  in  the  war  of  the  Eevolution,  and  for  more  than 
a  quarter  of  a  century  had  been  engaged,  as  his  secular 
affairs  permitted,  in  the  service  of  the  church  of  Christ. 
Four  of  his  sons  had  removed  to  Missouri,  and  in  1811 
he  followed  them  to  St.  Louis.  For  seven  months  he 
was  in  the  countrj^  Avithout  hearing  a  Protestant  ser- 
mon, and  for  three  years  never  saw  a  Presbyterian 
minister. 

But  he  was  not  disheartened.  Although  almost  alone, 
his  light  shone  forth  steadily.  "  I  made  it,"  he  says, 
"  my  daily  business  to  converse  with  the  j^rominent  and 
leading  heads  of  families  on  the  necessity  there  was 
of  having  stated  and  regular  religious  worship  in  the 
place."  All  conceded  the  desirableness  of  such  a  mea- 
sure; but  the  difficulty  was  to  procure  a  suitable  minister. 
After  the  visit  of  Messrs.  Smith  and  Mills,  he  wrote  to 
one  of  the  Boston  ministers,  asking  him  to  send  one. 
"  I  do  believe,"  he  writes,  "  there  is  no  place  more  in 
need  of  missionary  aid  than  the  Territory  of  Missouri." 

'  Presbyterian  Quarterly  Keview,  July,  1861.  Rev.  T.  Hill's  His^ 
torical  Discourse. 


MISSIONS    IN    MISSOURI,    1810   1830.  425 

He  estimated  that  there  were  a  thousand  Presbyterian 
families  within  its  bounds,  while  there  was  not  a  single 
church  or  society  of  their  order.  If  two  men  could  bo 
sent,  one  mig-ht  open  a  school  in  St.  Louis,  and  the  other 
itinerate  and  be  there  occasionally.  Such  was  his  pro- 
ject;  but  he  sought  m  vain  to  have  it  executed. 

A  year  or  two  passed  away,  and  in  Februarj^,  1816, 
Gideon  Blackburn  visited  St.  Louis,  pi-eached  several 
times,  and  awakened  great  interest  among  the  people. 
Some  of  the  Eoman  Catholics  were  drawn  to  hear  him. 
Among  them  was  a  French  lady  who  attended  regularly 
and  often  wept  freely.  Her  priest  heard  of  it,  and  called 
her  to  account  for  it,  asking  her  why  she  never  cried 
when  he  preached.  Her  reply  was,  "  If  you  will  preach 
like  Mr.  Blackburn,  I  will  ciy  all  the  time." 

Blackburn's  sta}^,  however,  was  short.  The  people 
were  still  left  as  sheep  w-ithout  a  shepherd.  There  wei-e 
twelve  or  fifteen  Baptist  elders,  eight  Methodist  circuit- 
preachers,  and  four  or  five  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
preachers,  but  none  whom  Mr.  Hempstead,  or  those 
who  sympathized  with  him,  could  look  to  for  help.  All 
that  he  could  do  was  to  distribute  the  Bibles  and  tracts 
which  Messrs.  Mills  and  Smith  exerted  themselves  to 
forward  to  him  for  distribution.  These  he  scattered 
abroad;  and  it  was  at  this  juncture,  shortly  after  Mr, 
Blackburn's  visit,  that  Mr.  Giddings  arrived. 

By  nature  and  by  grace  he  was  well  fitted  for  the 
post  he  was  called  to  occupy.  He  was  a  man  of  excel- 
lent common  sense,  great  resolution  and  self-reliance; 
calm,  earnest,  and  possessed  of  indomitable  perseve- 
rance; and,  although  grave  and  somewhat  stiff  in  his 
manners,  exceedingly  kind-hearted.  His  j)hysical  con- 
stitution was  callable  of  great  endurance,  and  his  de- 
meanor was  such  as  became  a  minister  of  Christ.  Such 
a  man  was  not  to  be  disheartened   by  any  ordinary 

36» 


426  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

difficulty.  He  stood  prepared  to  endure  hardness  as  a 
good  soldier  of  Jesus  Christ. 

At  St.  Louis/  although  there  were  a  few  warm  hearts 
to  welcome  him,  he  was  not  as  yet  acquainted  with 
them,  nor  they  with  him.  "He  walked  lonely  from 
house  to  house,  and  finally  succeeded  in  securing  a 
lodging-place."  While  resting,  he  took  up  a  small 
printed  sheet,  and  found  it  to  be  a  St.  Louis  newspaper. 
On  opening  it,  the  first  article  which  met  his  eye  was 
headed  "Caution,"  and,  as  he  read  it,  he  found  that  it 
warned  the  people  against  himself  The  paper  gravely 
informed  the  people  of  the  place  that  a  society  had 
been  recently  formed  in  New  England  for  sending  out 
missionaries  to  the  Western  countrj'-,  but  it  declared 
that  this  was  done  with  a  political  object  in  view, 
growing  out  of  the  famous  Hartford  Convention.  Such 
was  the  grossness  of  prejudice  which  met  and  con- 
fronted him  at  the  very  outset  of  his  work. 

The  first  year  and  a  half  was  spent  by  Mr.  Giddings 
in  itinerant  labors.  He  sought  out  the  scattered  Pres- 
byterians and  endeavored  to  gather  them  in  congre- 
gations. The  first  church  he  organized  was  in  Bellevue 
settlement,  Washington  county,  about  eighty  miles 
southwest  from  St.  Louis,  and  consisted  of  thirty  mem- 
bers. This  was  Aug.  2,  1816.  A  much  deeper  interest 
is  connected  with  this  church — the  earliest  organized 
in  the  Territor}' — than  with  many  another  located  at 
some  more  important  point.  As  early  as  1807,  four 
Presb^'terian  elders,  all  from  the  same  church  in  North 
Carolina,  located  here.  Nor  did  they  hide  the  light 
which  they  bore  with  them  to  their  new  homes.  Their 
practice  was  to  meet  each  Sabbath  and  hold  a  prayer- 

1  St.  Louis  was  occupied  as  a  French  trading-post  in  1763,  and  the 
town  was  laid  out  in  the  following  year.  In  1822  the  population  was 
four  thousand  five  hundred  and  ninety-eight. — Eighiij  Fears'  Progress, 
i.  181. 


MISSIONS   IN    MISSOURI,    lSlO-1830.  427 

meeting,  and  read  a  sermon,  generally  one  of  President 
Davics;  and  thus  tliey  continued  until  the  Methodists 
came,  when  they  worshipped  with  them.  The  next 
church  oi'ganized  was,  in  the  same  autumn,  at  Bon- 
liommio  settlement,  thirty  miles  west  of  St.  Louis.  It 
at  first  numbered  only  sixteen  members.  Hitherto  he 
had  labored  alone.  But  on  December  8  of  the  same 
3'car,  Charles  S.  Robinson,  a  native  of  Granville,  Miss., 
sent  out  by  the  New  York  Evangelical  Missionary  So- 
ciety, reached  the  field.  He  located  at  St.  Charles 
Eiver. 

At  about  the  same  time — at  least  within  the  space  of 
a  few  weeks — the  Eev.  Timothy  Flint,  sent  out  by  the 
Connecticut  Missionary  Society,  crossed  the  Missouri. 
He  found  opened  before  him  "a  boundless  field."  De- 
clining any  pastoral  charge,  he  labored  as  an  itinerant. 
His  tours  extended  from  the  Forks  to  settlements  more 
than  one  hundred  miles  up  the  Missouri  River.  To  him 
it  appeared  as  if  no  missionary  station  in  the  United 
States  could  be  more  interesting.  The  soil  and  climate 
were  inviting.  Beyond  example,  the  inhabitants  were 
multiplying  by  constant  arrivals  from  almost  every 
section  of  the  Union.  An  average  of  one  hundred  emi- 
grants a  day  passed  through  the  town  of  St.  Charles; 
but  the  missionary  sadl}"  I'cported,  "  not  one  family  in 
fifty  carries  a  Bible."  Within  a  short  time  he  had  dis- 
tributed among  them  five  hundred  copies  of  the  word 
of  God.  Multitudes  were  "indisposed  and  careless;" 
but  "a  prevailing  desire  Avas  manifested,  in  a  number 
of  places,  for  the  Bible  and  preaching." 

The  labors  of  Messrs.  Flint  and  Giddings  were  widely 
extended.  They  collected  congregations,  organized 
churches,  and  labored  generally  as  itinerants.  Mr. 
Giddings,  eminently  fitted  for  the  task,  taught  a  school 
in  St.  Louis  for  a  portion  of  the  year,  extending  his 
missionary  excursions  during  the  other  portions  of  it 


428  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

in  Missouri  and  in  Illinois,  and  likewise  supplying,  aa 
he  was  able,  the  feeble  congregation  of  St.  Louis,  or- 
ganized as  a  church  Nov.  23,  1817.  It  was  constituted 
of  only  nine  members,  and  it  was  eight  years  before 
the  little  band  were  able  to  complete  a  house  of  wor- 
ship. At  that  time  it  was  considered  "the  finest  and 
best-built  church  in  the  West;"  and  in  the  following 
year  Mr.  Giddings  was  installed  as  pastor, — a  relation 
which  he  sustained  till  his  death  in  1828. 

But  while  awaiting  the  organization  of  the  church, 
and  preaching  often  to  a  very  small  auditory, — some- 
times only  four  or  five  hearers, — he  extended  his  in- 
fluence over  the  city.  He  was  diligent  in  the  circulation 
of  the  SciMptures,  especially  of  French  Bibles  and  Testa- 
ments. In  many  settlements  he  was  gratified  to  observe 
a  decided  reformation.  New  churches  were  continually 
springing  up  in  the  wilderness.  Mr.  Flint,  stationed  at 
St.  Charles  on  the  Missouri,  labored  extensively  in  the 
adjoining  towns.  Green's  Bottom,  ten  miles  above  St. 
Charles,  was  added  to  his  missionary  stations.  But  his 
tours  were  numerous  and  distant.  He  ascended  the 
Mississippi  and  the  Missouri,  frequently  crossing  the 
rivers  and  preaching  everj'where  as  opportujiity  was 
afforded.  Many  of  his  tours  were  performed  on  foot. 
He  ti'avelled  eight}''  miles  a  week.  In  an  excursion  of 
seven  weeks,  he  crossed  the  Missouri  sixteen  times,  and 
on  some  occasions  the  attempt  was  hazardous.  But  no 
difficulty  of  this  kind  was  allowed  to  withstand  his 
persevering  energy. 

He  was  deeply  affected  by  the  moral  wastes  around 
him.  The  situation  of  the  people  where  he  travelled, 
he  represents  as  being  generally  deplorable.  "  Many 
of  them  live  and  die  without  any  thought  of  eternity. 
So  engaged  are  they  in  making  now  settlements  in 
the  woods  that  they  seem  to  regard  nothing  besides." 
There  were,  however,  some  marked  exceptions.     Eo- 


MISSIONS    IN    MISSOURI,    1810-1830.  429 

peatedly  be  met  those  to  Avhom  he  had  before  preached 
or  distributed  Bibles,  and  listened  with  a  joyous  heart 
to  their  cordial  expressions  of  gratitude.  "I  could 
give,"  he  observes,  "a  thousand  details  of  the  evident 
good  resulting  from  this  blessed  charity." 

Other  laborers  now  came  to  join  and  encourage  the 
feeble  band.  Rev.  Thomas  Donnell  was  installed  pastor 
of  the  church  at  Bellevue,  April  25,  1818.  Messrs.  Gid- 
dings  and  Flint,  and  probably  Ilobinson,  were  present. 
Mr.  Giddings  preached  the  sermon, — "  the  power  of  God 
unto  salvation."  It  was  printed  at  St.  Louis,  and  was 
the  first  sermon  ever  printed  Avest  of  the  Mississippi.* 

In  1817  the  General  Assembl}-  sent  William  McFar- 
land  to  St.  Louis  for  six  months,  or,  in  case  that  place 
Avas  found  to  be  supplied,  he  was  to  visit  the  destitute 
})laces  in  Missouri  Territory.  In  1819  the  Connecticut 
Society  commissioned  John  Matthews  and  the  Assem- 
bly Jeremiah  Chamberlain,  each  for  six  months,  in  the 
Territory  of  Missouri.  The  last  was  followed  in  the 
succeeding  year  by  Francis  McFarland,  who  was  com- 
missioned also  for  six  months,  '-pursuing  the  course  of 
the  Missouri  till  he  reach  Charleston,"  and  spending 
some  time  "  in  Franklin  and  its  vicinity." 

Mr.  Matthews  was  of  Scotch-Irish  descent,  a  native 
of  Beaver  county,  Pa.,  a  graduate  of  Jefferson  College, 
and  a  theological  pupil  of  Dr.  McMillan.  For  seven 
years  he  had  been  pastor  of  Gravel  Run  and  Waterford 
Churches  in  Erie  Presbytery,  when,  in  1817,  he  resigned 
his  charge  to  become  an  itinerating  missionary.  He 
started  on  his  journey  West,  going  down  the  Ohio  in  a 
flatl)oat  as  far  as  Louisville,  then  on  horseback  across 
Indiana  as  far  as  Yincennes,  then  through  the  Territory 
of  Illinois  to  St.  Louis,  where  he  mot  Mr.  Giddings. 
Ascending  the  Missouri  to  the  ncigliborliood  of  St. 
Charles,  he  took  charge  of  the  church  of  Louisiana,  in 
Pike  county,  where  he  continued  preaching  and  itine- 


430  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

rating  till  1825,  when  he  removed  to  Apj^le  Creek 
Church,  Cape  Girardeau  county,  two  years  subsequently 
leaving"  it  for  Kaskaskia,  111. 

The  results  of  missionary  labor  now  (January,  1819) 
began  to  be  plainly  visible.  "People  in  the  country," 
writes  Mr.  Giddings,  "  are  surprised  at  the  alteration 
in  St.  Louis  within  two  years;  and  alterations  for  the 
better  are  visible  in  almost  every  place  where  mis- 
bionaiy  labors  have  been  bestowed." 

A  church  was  organized  by  the  name  of  Union  at 
Eichwood's  settlement,  in  April,  1819;  but  it  was  feeble, 
s6ldom  visited  by  a  Presbyterian  minister,  and  probably 
lonir  since  has  become  extinct.  The  Butfalo  Church 
was  organized  a  year  or  two  earlier,  by  John  Matthews; 
Shoal  Creek  Church,  in  Bond  county,  was  organized,  with 
thirty-three  members,  by  Mr.  Giddings,  March  10, 1819; 
St.  Charles  Church,  of  nine  members,  by  Giddings  and 
Matthews,  Aug.  19,1818;  Dardenne  Church,  of  seven 
members,  by  Eobinson,  Sept.  19,  1819;  and  these,  with 
the  churches  of  Bellevue,  Bonhommie,  St.  Louis,  and 
perhaps  one  or  two  others,  constituted  all  the  Presby- 
terian churches  in  Missouri  previous  to  1820.  The 
ministers  up  to  this  time  were  Giddings,  Eobinson, 
Flint,  Matthews,  Donnell,  and  David  Tenny.  The  three 
first  were  from  New  England,  Matthews  was  from  Penn- 
sylvania, and  Donnell  from  North  Carolina.  Eobinson 
was  a  faithful  and  devoted  man,  possessed  of  true  mis- 
sionary zeal.  Flint  was  a  scholar  of  no  mean  preten- 
sions,.distinguished  subsequently  as  a  writer,  the  master 
of  an  elegant  and  perspicuous  style,  and,  after  "  ten 
years  in  the  Mississippi  Valley,"  recounted  what  he  had 
seen  in  descriptions  of  the  West  and  its  scener}',  which 
charmed  and  elicited  the  praise  of  English  reviewers. 
Matthews  was  a  workman  that  needed  not  to  be 
ashamed,  in  labors  most  abundant,  and,  with  all  his  itine- 
rancy, a  thorough  student  of  theology,  leaving  behind 


MISSIONS    IN    MISSOURI,    I810-1S30.  431 

him  a  written  system.  DonncU  was  respectable  as  a 
preacher  and  eminent  as  a  Christian;  and  a  clerical 
brother  who  knew  him  well  declared  that  "some  of 
the  most  powei-ful  appeals  to  sinful  man  to  be  recon- 
ciled to  God  which  he  ever  heard,  were  from  Father 
Donnell." 

The  labors  of  most  of  these  men  were  of  a  most 
arduous  kind.  For  several  years  after  Mr.  Giddings's 
arrival,  and  till  seven  churches  had  been  formed,  there 
was  but  a  single  settled  pastor  within  the  Territory. 
The  burden  devolved  upon  Messrs.  Giddings,  Matthews, 
and  Flint  was  almost  crushing.  But  the  calm,  resolute 
energy  and  self-possession  of  the  first,  and  the  untiring 
energy  of  the  others,  did  not  give  wa}'.  "  These  desti- 
tute churches,"  wrote  Mr.  Giddings,  "  are  calling  on  me 
for  preaching,  and  consider  themselves  as  under  my 
pastoral  care.  I  can  feel  for  them  and  pray  for  them  ; 
and  that,  for  some  of  them,  is  the  most  that  I  can  do." 
Well  it  might  be.  The  distance  of  some  of  the  churches 
from  one  another  was  not  less  than  one  hundred  and 
forty  miles. 

The  morals  of  the  people  of  the  Territory  were,  as  a 
general  thing,  far  from  commendable.  Little  respect 
was  paid  to  the  Sabbath.  Stores  Avere  open  on  that  as 
on  other  days,  and  the  sacred  hours  were  given  up  to 
mirth  and  pleasui^e.  Flint  says  of  St.  Charles,  ''  There 
was  not  a  professor  of  our  form  of  religion  in  St.  Charles 
when  I  went  there.  The  first  Sabbath  that  I  preached, 
before  the  morning  service  began,  directly  opposite  the 
house  where  the  service  was  to  take  place,  there  was  a 
horse-race.  The  horses  received  the  signal  to  start  just 
as  I  rode  to  the  door."  Education  was  gi'ossly  neglected. 
Giddings  says,  ''In  most  of  the  principal  settlements 
Methodist  or  Baptist  churches  had  been  formed,  some 
of  which  were  in  a  flourishing  condition  :  yet  the  state 
of  moral  feeling  and  the  tone  of  piety  was  low  through- 


432  HISTORY    OF    PRESEYTERIANISM. 

out  the  country.  Little  attention  has  been  paid  to 
education,  and  not  more  than  one  in  five  can  read." 

In  1818  the  Presbytery  of  Missouri  was  erected  and 
united  with  the  Synod  of  Tennessee.  Its  opening 
sermon  was  preached  by  John  Matthews.  For  several 
years  it  numbered  only  from  six  to  eight  members.  In 
1823  some  of  the  churches  enjoyed  a  season  of  revival. 
A  letter  from  Rev.  J.  M.  Peck  stated  that  in  the  county 
of  Boon's  Lick  an  extensive  revival  had  been  in  pro- 
gress for  more  than  a  year.  Upwards  of  five  hundred 
had  been  added  to  the  churches. 

In  1822  the  attention  of  the  Assembly's  Board  of 
Missions  began  especially  to  be  di-awn  toward  this 
region.  Li  that  year  Thomas  Alexander  was  commis- 
sioned to  labor  for  six  months  within  the  bounds  of  the 
State.  In  1824,  John  S.  Ball,  Jesse  Townsend,  and  Wil- 
liam Dickson  were  sent  out  to  this  field,  and  John  Mat- 
thews, already  a  veteran  in  pioneer  labor,  Avas  to  devote 
three  months  to  the  upper  settlements  within  the  Forks 
of  the  Mississippi  and  Missouri.  He  was  succeeded  in 
the  following  year  by  William  Lacy,  and,  in  conjunction 
with  Mr.  Bull,  whose  commission  Avas  renewed,  Avas  to 
visit  the  most  inviting  missionary  fields  and  pay  special 
attention  to  the  infant  churches.  William  Dickson, 
Avho  Avas  also  roajjpoiiited  by  the  Board,  Avas  to  labor 
at  Boon  Lick  settlement  and  Salt  River. 

In  1825  Ralls  county  contained  tAvo  thousand  four 
hundred  and  fifty-four  inhabitants,  Avithout  a  clergy- 
man except  an  uneducated  Ba])tist  avIio  rarely  attempted 
to  preach.  Pike  county,  Avith  three  thousand  four  hun- 
dred and  thirty  inhabitants,  had  a  small  Presbyterian 
church  of  twenty-seven  members,  but  nc  pastor.  Lin- 
coln county,  Avith  two  thousand  two  hundred  and  forty- 
one  inhabitants,  had  no  Presbyterian  church, — although 
it  Avas  thought  two  feeble  ones  might  soon  be  organized. 
St.  Charles  county,  Avith  a  population  of  three  thousand 


MISSIONS    IN    MISSOURI,    1810-1830.  i33 

nine  hundred  and  sixty-four,  had  two  churches,  and 
several  more  might  soon  be  gathered  "  if  there  were 
hiborers," — Mr.  Eobinson  being  the  onl}'-  clergyman  of 
any  denomination  in  the  county.  North  of  the  Mis- 
souri, Montgomery  county,  with  a  population  of  two 
thousand  three  hundred  and  sixty-five,  had  no  church  ; 
but  congregations  might  easily  be  gathered.  In  Calla- 
way county,  numbering  two  thousand  four  hundred  and 
fifty-five,  the  people  were  anxious  for  the  formation 
of  a  church.  Boone  county,  with  a  population  of  five 
thousand  one  hundred  and  fifty-seven,  off"ered  an 
invitino;  field,  hitherto  -neglected,  for  missionaries. 
Howard  county,  population  seven  thousand  four  hun- 
dred and  eighty-five,  had  a  single  church,  but  off'ered 
an  extensive  field  for  usefulness.  Chariton  county, 
wnth  seventeen  hundred  and  forty-seven  inhabitants, 
w^as  willing,  and  able  in  part,  to  support  a  pastor.  Ray, 
Clay,  Sillard,  and  Saline  counties,  with  an  aggregate 
population  of  six  thousand  two  hundred  and  ninety- 
two,  gave  little  promise  of  speedily  forming  churches. 
In  Cooper  county  (four  thousand  three  hundred  and 
seventy -nine)  two  congregations  might  soon  be  gathered. 
In  Cob,  Gasconade,  and  Franklin  (aggregate  four  thou- 
sand and  one)  the  field  w^as  uninviting,  and  no  prospect 
of  churches  being  formed.  In  St.  Louis  county  (eight 
thousand  six  hundred  and  fifty-two)  one  church  had 
been  organized,  and  several  others  might  be  gathered. 
In  Jeff'erson  (nineteen  hundred  and  thirty-four)  was 
one  small  church  without  a  pastor;  in  St.  Genevieve 
(two  thousand  and  twenty-five)  none.  In  Perry  (two 
thousand  three  hundred  and  forty)  one  might  soon  be 
formed.  In  Washington  (four  thousand  three  hundred 
and  three)  was  one  church,  under  Thomas  Donnell;  and 
another,  if  a  suitable  man  could  be  found,  might  be 
formed  at  Potosi.  In  St.  Fran9ois  (sixteen  hundred 
and  seventy-one),  Madison  (sixteen  hundred  and  forty- 

VoL.  II.— 37 


434  HISTORY   OP   PRESBYTERIANISM. 

seven),  Scott  (nine  hundred  and  ninety),  New  Madrid 
(fourteen  hundred  and  forty-two),  Wayne  (two  thou- 
sand five  hundred  and  twenty-seven),  and  Cape  Girai'- 
deau  (five  thousand  seven  hundred  and  twenty-sixj  was 
no  chui-ch  except  in  the  last-named  county.  The  popu- 
lation of  the  State  amounted  to  eighty  thousand  six 
hundi-ed  and  seventy-seven.^ 

At  this  time  (1825)  the  Presbytery  of  Missouri  con- 
sisted of  only  six  ministers.'^  Thomas  Donnell  was  still 
laboring  at  Bellevue,  Salmon  Giddings  at  St.  Louis, 
Charles  S.  Robinson  at  St.  Charles;  while  William  S. 
Lacy,  Jesse  Townsend,  and  John  Matthews,  commis- 
sioned by  the  Assembly's  Board  and  members  of  the 
Presbytery,  were  without  pastoral  charge.  John  S. 
Ball  was  connected  with  the  Presbytery  as  a  licentiate. 

Meanwhile,  several  new  churches  had  been  formed. 
In  January,  1821,  Rev.  E,Hollister,  from  the  United  Do- 
mestic Missionary  Society  of  New  York,  and  the  Rev. 
William  McFarland,  from  the  General  Assembly's  Board, 
came  to  Missouri  and  proceeded  into  what  was  then 
called  Boon's  Lick  county.  While  there  they  formed 
a  church  of  twenty-three  members  at  Old  Franklin,  op- 
posite Boonville,  the  germ  of  the  chui'ch  at  the  latter 
place.  They  also  organized  the  Chariton  Church,  of 
nine  members,  May  9,  1821.  On  the  21st  of  the  same 
month  Mr.  Giddings  organized  the  Apple  Creek  Church, 
of  forty-one  members. 

The  churches  under  the  care  of  the  Presbytery  (1825) 
numbered  eighteen ;  but  of  these  about  one-half  were  in 
Illinois.  The  churches  at  Concord,  St.  Louis,  and  St. 
Charles  numbered  each  from  thirty  to  forty  members. 
The  one  at  Bonhommie  had  but  fourteen,  and  the  one 
at  Buffalo  but  twenty-seven. 

1  Report  of  United  Domestic  Missionary  Society  for  1825,  p.  74. 
"  Mr.  Robinson  writes  at  this  date  that  be  "  could  not  answer  one- 
half  of  the  calls  for  him  if  he  was  to  preach  every  day  for  six  months." 


MISSIONS   IN    MISSOURI,    1810-1830.  435 

In  1830  the  Presbytery  of  Missouri  had  but  eight 
members.  The  churches  uumbered  sixteen/  with  a  mem- 
bership of  about  four  hundred.  The  geographical  po- 
sition rather  than  size  of  the  Presbytery  led  to  its 
division ;  and,  upon  an  increase  of  members,  it  was 
divided  in  1831  to  form  the  three  Presbyteries  of  Mis- 
souri, St.  Charles,  and  St.  Joseph. 

In  1837  the  Presbyter}^  of  Missouri  had  seven  ministers 
and  ten  churches;  but  of  the  ministers  four  were  stated 
supplies  and  three  were  without  charge.  The  Presby- 
tery of  St.  Charles  had  seventeen  ministers  and  eighteen 
churches;  but  five  of  its  members,  Messrs.  Gallaher,  Ely, 
Hays,  Agnew,  and  Nassau,  were  connected  with  Marion 
College,  four  of  the  others  were  stated  supplies,  and 
several  were  without  charge.  There  was  not  a  settled 
pastor  in  the  two  bodies.  The  Presbytery  of  St.  Louis 
had  reported  in  1833  five  members, — Thomas  Donnell, 
at  Concord,  John  F.  Cowan,  at  Apple  Creek,  William  S. 
Potts,  at  St.  Louis,  Joseph  M.  Ladd,  at  Farmington,  and 
E.  F.  Hatfield,  stated  supply  of  the  Second  Church  at 
St.  Louis.  The  first  three  were  the  only  pastors  within 
the  State.  Not  far  from  forty  churches  ha,d  been 
gathered,  and,  including  those  who  were  engaged  in 
the  work  of  instruction,  the  ministers  numbered  about 
thirty. 

In  1834  the  Eev.  Dr.  Ely,  of  Philadelphia,  conceived 
the  plan  of  establishing  a  colony  in  Missouri,  then  a 
young  and  i-apidly-growing  State,  and  in  connection 
with  this  colony  to  erect  and  found  a  college  and  theo- 
logical seminary.  In  this  enterprise  he  embarked  with 
great  zeal,  investing  in  it  his  large  fortune.  The  insti- 
tution rose  \ypon  a  foundation  laid  for  it  l)y  David  Nel- 
son. Impressed  wath  the  importance  of  increasing  the 
means  of  education  in  the  far  "West,  Dr.  Nelson,  relin- 

^  Those  in  Illinois  were  now  in  another  connection. 


436  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

quishing  Lis  pastoral  charge  at  Danville,  Ky.,  removed 
ill  18oU  to  Marion  county,  Mo.,  and  located  himself 
about  eighteen  miles  from  the  Mississippi  and  twelve 
miles  from  Palmyra.  There  he  commenced  the  school 
which  subsequently  grew  into  Marion  College,  of  which 
he  became  the  first  President.  Upon  the  same  ground 
upon  which  his  school-house  was  built,  other  buildings, 
for  dormitories,  recitation-rooms,  and  boarding-houses, 
were  from  time  to  time  erected.  Pupils  were  called 
from  a  distance,  teachers  were  procured,  and  in  1832  a 
charter  was  granted  by  the  State.  Dr.  Nelson  visited 
New  York,  New  England,  and  other  parts  of  the 
countr}",  with  a  view  to  secure  the  requisite  means  to 
carry  forward  the  enterprise.  Dr.  Ely,  in  common 
with  many  others,  became  its  patron.  It  was  to  be 
conducted  on  the  manual-labor  system,  then  remark- 
ably popular  in  some  parts  of  the  land,  and  quite  a 
large  number  of  students  was  drawn  together.  But 
an  unw^arrantable  expenditure,  in  connection  with  ex- 
travagant, wild,  and  speculative  notions,  hastened  the 
defeat  of  the  whole  project.  In  1835,  Dr.  Nelson  re- 
linquished his  post,  and  soon  after  removed  to  another 
State. 

His  successor  in  the  Presidency  was  Dr.  William  S. 
Potts,  pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  St. 
Louis,  where  he  had  succeeded  the  lamented  Giddings. 
The  four  years  during  which  he  retained  the  post  of 
President  were  to  him  years  of  intense  and  exhausting 
labor.  During  one  season  he  travelled  from  Missouri 
to  Maine  in  the  prosecution  of  his  efforts  to  collect 
funds  ia  aid  of  the  college. 

But  the  times  were  unfavorable.  The  whole  country 
was  financially  prostrate.  The  success  of  Dr.  Potts 
did  not  equal  his  expectations;  and  in  1838  he  felt  it 
his  duty  to  listen  to  the  proposals  of  some  of  the  mem- 
bers of  his  former  charge  to  attempt  the  establishment 


MISSIONS    IN    MICHIGAN,    1810-1830.  437 

of  a  new  church  in  St.  Louis.  Resigning  the  Pre- 
sidency in  1839,  he  was  succeeded  by  Hiram  P.  Good- 
rich, a  native  of  Massachusetts,  who  for  several  years 
had  been  a  professor  in  Union  Theological  Seminary, 
Va.,  and  subsequently  for  a  single  year  had  been  Pro- 
fessor of  Ancient  Languages  in  Marion  College.  For 
four  years  more  the  institution  continued  in  operation 
under  President  Goodrich;  but  by  this  time  it  had  lost 
the  confidence  and  prestige  necessary  to  its  success. 
The  fortune  of  Dr.  Ely,  and  large  sums  from  other 
sources,  bad  been  absorbed  in  the  enterprise,  Avhich  was 
finally  abandoned. 

Although  Detroit  was  visited  as  early  as  1610  and  a 
settlement  effected  and  a  fort  erected  in  1701,  it  was 
not  till  1805  that  a  Territorial  government  was  esta- 
blished in  Michigan.  Among  its  earliest  settlers  were 
emigrants  sent  out  (1749)  from  France  at  the  expense 
of  the  Government.!  In  1801,  when  Mr.  Badger,  on 
his  visit  to  the  Indians,  reached  Detroit,  he  reported 
that  "  there  was  not  one  Christian  to  be  found  in  all 
this  region,  except  a  black  man  who  appeared  pious." 
In  1804  it  was  spoken  of  as  "  a  most  abandoned  place." 
At  this  time  Dr.  Bangs  visited  it  as  a  Methodist  mis- 
sionary,^ and  the  Congregational  minister  told  him  that 
he  had  preached  in  Detroit  until  none  but  a  fcAV  children 
would  come  to  hear  him.  "  If  you  can  succeed,"  he 
added, — "  which  I  very  much  doubt, — I  shall  rejoice." 
He  did  not  succeed,  but  "  shook  off  the  dust  of  his  feet 
as  a  testimony  against  them,  and  took  his  departure.'' 
Barely  a  month  elapsed  after  this  significant  expression 
of  disappointed  effort  before  the  place  was  almost 
entirely  destroyed  by  fire,  a  single  house  only  remain- 
ing uninjured. 

Till  after  the  reorganization  of  the  Territorial  govern- 

1  Sketches  of  the  City  of  Detroit,  p.  3. 
^  Bangs' s  History  of  Methodism. 

37* 


438  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

ment  in  the  fall  of  1813  and  the  close  of  the  war,  no 
effort  was  made  to  send  missionaries  into  this  region. 
The  principal  portion,  indeed,  of  the  white  population 
consisted  of  soldiers  resident  at  the  military  station.* 
For  successive  years — after  1817 — the  missionaries  of 
the  Assembly — one  or  more — were  commissioned  to 
labor  for  a  portion  of  their  time  in  connection  \Vith 
these  stations.  The  first  to  enter  this  field  was  the  Rev. 
John  Monteith,  whose  commission  was  renewed  in  sub- 
stantially the  same  form  for  several  years. 

Mr.  Monteith,  sent  out  by  the  Board  of  Missions, 
reached  Detroit  June  27, 1816.  He  met  from  the  people 
so  cordial  a  reception  that  it  appeared  to  him  unneces- 
sary any  longer  to  bear  the  character  of  a  missionary. 
He  commenced  his  labors  as  a  stated  minister,  and  found 
himself  in  the  midst  of  "  a  wide  field  of  usefulness." 
"The  profaneness  of  the  soldiers,"  he  says,  "exceeds 
an}^  thing  I  ever  imagined.  There  is  no  Sabbath  in 
this  country."  Faithful  in  the  discharge  of  his  duty 
both  in  public  and  private,  he  was  treated  by  all  classes 
witb  the  greatest  respect,  and  not  a  word  was  uttered 
in  opposition. 

In  this  place  he  found  himself  two  hundred  miles 
distant  from  any  Presbyterian  minister,  and  almost 
crushed  under  the  task  imposed  upon  him.  Amid  pre- 
vailing ignorance  and  wickedness,  there  was  scarcely  an 
individual  from  whom  he  could  derive  assistance.  The 
only  Christian  zeal  perceptible  was  among  the  Method- 
ists. The  army  was  without  a  chaplain,  and  his  work 
Avas  greater  than  he  felt  able  to  perform.  Yet  one 
month  of  each  year,  with  the  consent  of  his  people, 
was  devoted  to  missionary  excursions.  He  accordingly 
visited   Raisin,  the   Rapids   of   the  Miami,  Sandusky, 

1  Although  the  oldest  of  the  Western  cities,  Detroit  had  risen  in 
one  hundred  and  thirty-seven  years  only  to  a  population,  in  1820, 
of  fourteen  hundred  and  forty-two.— J?«>A<y  Years'  Progress,  i.  177. 


MISSIONS   IN    MICHIGAN,    1810-1830.  489 

Cleveland,  and  other  places,  and  preached  frequently. 
At  Fort  Meigs  and  Raisin  he  felt  confident  that  congre- 
gations might  be  gathered.' 

Doubtless  in  consequence  of  his  report,  the  Assembly 
in  1818  directed  that  a  missionary  should  be  sent  for 
six  months  to  the  settlements  on  the  river  Eaisin  ; 
and  this  direction  was  repeated  in  the  two  following- 
years. 

In  1820  it  was- said  of  Mackinaw  that  "the  Chris- 
tian Sabbath  had  not  got  so  far."  It  was,  however, 
recognized  in  that  year  for  the  first  time  by  the  people, 
on  occasion  of  the  visit  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Jedediah  Morse, 
who  gathered  the  people  of  the  place  to  listen  to  the 
preaching  of  the  gospel.  A  year  later,  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Yates,  of  Union  College,  visited  this  place,  and  once 
again  there  was  an  external  recognition  of  the  claims 
of  the  Sabbath.  In  1822  the  Rev.  Mr.  Ferry  came  to 
Mackinaw  as  a  missionary  of  the  United  Foreign  Mis- 
sionary Society;  and,  although  he  could  not  find  in  the 
place  a  single  Christian  brother  with  Avhom  he  could 
say,  "  Our  Father,"  he  did  not  despond.  Cheerfully 
and  patiently  he  toiled  on  ;  and  in  ten  years  the  cha- 
racter of  the  place  was  reported  to  have  become  en- 
tirely changed. 

In  1820,  Mr.  Monteith  (afterward  settled  at  Blissfield, 
Mich.)  reported  the  results  of  his  visits  to  the  military 
stations  in  the  Territoiy.  The  substance  of  it  was  dis- 
couraging, and  even  appalling. 

"The  general  aspect  of  manners  among  the  troops" 
'gave  "  an  idea  of  infernal  spirits,  rather  than  of  human 
beings."  Meanwhile,  he  had  urgent  calls  from  the  sur- 
rounding territory  to  preach  the  gospel.  In  the  same 
year  Rev.  Moses  Hunter  performed  a  mission  of  six 
months  at  Fort  Meigs,  on  the  river  Raisin,  and  in  other 

1  Christian  Herald,  iii.  320. 


440  HISTORY   OP   PRESBYTERIANISM. 

destitute  settlements  in  that  region.  The  places  where 
he  itinerated  were  important  and  growing.  So  accept- 
able were  his  labors  that  he  was  invited  by  the  people 
to  return  and  reside  among  them.  There  was  but  one 
Presbyterian  minister  in  the  region, — at  River  Eaisin. 
At  Fort  Meigs  a  church  had  been  organized,  originally 
with  but  twelve  members. 

Mr.  Monteith  continued  his  labors  in  this  region 
during  the  following  year.  At  Monroe  and  Meigs,  Pres. 
byterian  churches  .were  now  organized  and  were-  re- 
ported as  in  a  flourishing  condition.  In  the  course  of 
the  few  succeeding  years,  churches  were  gathered  at 
Detroit,  Ypsilanti,  Monroe,  Dexter,  Farmington,  Bloom- 
field,  Pontiac,  Mackinaw,  Statesburg,  Plymouth,  Te- 
c'umseh,  Dixborough,  and  Ann  Arbor.  The  church 
of  Pontiac  was  under  the  care  of  the  Presbytery  of 
Geneva  for  some  years  after  1824.  The  name  of  Ypsi- 
lanti indicates  its  date.  It  Avas  formed  in  1823,  at  the 
period  when  sympathy  for  Greece  in  her  struggle  for 
independence  pervaded  the  land  and  was  felt  even  in 
the  Western  forests. 

In  December,  1824,  Isaiah  W.  Ruggles  was  sent  to 
Michigan  by*the  United  Domestic  Mission aiy  Society, 
and  commenced  his  labors  at  Pontiac,  limiting  his 
excursions  mainly  to  Oakland  county,  yet  having  a 
large  circuit  in  which  he  had  no  fellow-laborer.'  In 
August,  1824,  the  church  of  Pontiac  numbered  fifty- 
five.  During  the  month  Mr.  Euggles  organized  a 
second  church,  in  the  southern  part  of  the  county, 
consisting  of  eight  members,  from  which  an  applica- 
tion was  forwarded  for  a  minister.  Mr.  Ruggles  soon 
after  commenced  his  pastorate  at  Monroe.  Noah  M. 
Wells,  after  laboring  in  the  summer  of  1824  at  Detroit, 
was  settled  there  as  pastor,  and  Stephen  Frontis,  As- 

'  Report  of  United  Domestic  Missionary  Society  for  1826. 


MISSIONS    IN    MICHIGAN,    1810-1830.  441 

sembly's  missionary,  was  laboring  at  the  same  period 
■with  good  success  at  the  river  Kaisiu.  William  Page 
was  settled  at  Ann  Arbor,  Oct.  24,  1826;  Ira  Dunning 
at  Farmington  on  the  10th  of  the  same  month.  Erie 
Prince  commenced  his  labors  in  Monroe  and  Oakland 
county  in  1827 ;  Alanson  Darwin  entered  this  field 
in  September,  and  Isaac  Mcllvaine  in  October,  of  the 
same  year. 

The  church  at  Mackinaw  was  organized  and  served 
by  Eev.  William  M.  Ferry,  sent  out  in  the  latter  part 
of  1823,  by  the  United  Foreign  Missionary  Society,  as 
superintendent  of  the  Indian  mission  at  this  important 
station.  The  same  society  had  missionaries  transferred 
to  its  charge  from  the  Northern  Missionary  Society, 
laboring  at  Fort  Gratiot,  on  the  St.  Clair,  about  a  mile 
below  the  outlet  of  Lake  Huron. 

The  Western  Missionary  Society  of  the  Synod  of 
Pittsburg  was  also  engaged  in  this  field.  In  1823  it 
established  a  mission  at  the  Falls  of  St.  Mary.  There 
were  several  French  and  English  families  already  lo- 
cated here,  and  it  was  largely  resorted  to  for  fishing- 
purposes  by  the  Indian  tribes.  As  a  military  and 
trading  post  its  position  was  regarded  as  of  great  im- 
portance, and  all  the  fur-trade  of  the  Northwest  was 
compelled  to  pass  through  it.  Here  also  was  a  United 
States  military  station,  and  here  also  Mr.  Schoolcraft, 
the  Indian  agent,  resided.  The  labors  of  the  mission- 
ary,  Rev.  Robert  M.  Laird,  were  followed  by  signal 
success,  especially  among  the  soldiers  of  the  garrison. 
Early  in  1824,  he  writes  that  twenty-two  persons  had 
attended  his  inquiry-meetings.  He  w^as  constantly 
engaged  in  preaching,  distributing  Bibles  and  other 
books,  and  in  religious  visitation.  A  timely  donation 
of  a  box  of  books  for  his  Sunday-school  was  forwarded 
to  him  by  Rev.  Thaddeus  Osgood. 

The  Assembly's  appointments  for  Michigan  were,  in 


442  HISTORY   OF   PRESBYTERIANISM. 

1822,  Joshua  L.  Moore  for  six  months  at  Detroit,  or,  in 
case  this  field  was  occupied,  in  destitute  portions  of 
the  Territory;  and  in  1823  two  missionaries  were  ap- 
pointed, one  of  whom,  Eldad  W.  Goodman,  was  to 
labor  for  six  months,  mainly  in  the  vicinity  of  Monroe 
and  Fort  Meigs.  In  the  following  year  Daniel  Water- 
buiy  and  Judah  Ely  were  sent  out  by  the  Board  to 
labor  within  the  bounds  of  the  State,  and  in  1825 
Alvan  Coe^  was  directed  to  spend  three  months  at 
Sault  de  St.  Marie,  or  Green  Bay,  while  Stephen  Frontis 
was  to  visit  the  infant  churches  of  Fort  Meigs,  Monroe, 
Mount  Clemens,  and  Pontiac,  and,  if  Detroit  was  still 
unoccupied,  pay  particular  attention  to  that  place. 

The  Presb^'tery  of  Detroit  was  erected  by  the  As- 
sembly in  1827.  It  consisted  of  five  ministers, — Noah 
M.  Wells,  Erie  Prince,  Isaac  W.  Ruggles,  William  M. 
Ferry,  and  William  Page, — and  of  the  five  churches  of 
Detroit,  Farmington,  Monroe,  Pontiac,  and  Mackinaw 
Mr.  Wells,  the  patriarch  of  the  Presbytery,  was  at  De- 
troit, Euggles  at  Pontiac,  Ferry  at  Mackinaw,  Prince 
at  Farmington,  and  Page  at  Monroe.  The  Presbytery 
stood  connected  with  the  Western  Reserve  Synod.  In 
the  course  of  the  five  succeeding  years,  Ira  M.  Weed, 
P.  W.  Warrener,  C.  G.  Clark,  G.  Harnell,  Luther  Hum- 
phrey, Cutting  Marsh,  and  others,  entered  the  field. 
Churches  were  organized  at  Dexter,  Bloomfield,  Beard- 
lio's  Prairie,  Statesburg,  Plymouth,  Tecumseh,  Dix- 
borough,  and  Ann  Arbor  :  so  that  in  1832  the  Pres- 
byterj'  could  report  thirteen  ministers  and  fourteen 
C'hui'ches,* 

1  From  Gi'anville,  Mass. 

2  In  18G1  the  church  at  Saline,  Mich.,  was  established.  It  con- 
f  istod  of  twelve  members  regularly  organized  at  Newark,  Wayne 
county,  N,Y.  lu  October  they  were  visited  by  the  Assembly's  mis- 
eionary,  E..  Sears,  who  remained  with  them  four  weeks  and  gathered 
in  jiersgns,  previously  members  of  Presbyterian  churches,  sufficient 


STATE   AND   PROGRESS   OF   THE   CHURCH,  1830-1837.   443 

In  the  following  year  the  two  new  Presbyteries  of 
St.  Joseph's  and  of  Monroe  were  formed  out  of  that  of 
Detroit, — the  first  embracing  four  and  the  last  seven 
members.  John  P.  Cleaveland  succeeded  Mr.  Wells  as 
pastor  at  Detroit,  and  was  the  leading  member  of  the 
Presbyter}'  which  retained  the  old  name.  Three  years 
later,  the  three  Presbyteries  numbered  together  thirty- 
two  ministers  and  fifty-nine  churches, — so  rapidly  had 
the  new  State  beeu  occupied  by  the  tide  of  immigration. 


CHAPTEE  XXXIX. 

STATE    AND    PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHURCH,  1830-1837. 

The  growth  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  this 
country  has  never  been  more  rapid  than  during  the 
first  portion  of  the  period  which  now  comes  under  re- 
view. In  the  preceding  five  years  there  had  been  an 
advance  till  then  unprecedented ;  but  even  this  was 
exceeded  by  the  results  set  forth  in  the  Assembly's  re- 
ports for  some  years  subsequent  to  1829. 

At  the  close  of  that  j^ear  there  were  in  connection 
with  the  Assembly  nineteen  Synods,  ninety-eight  Pres- 
byteries, fourteen  hundred  and  ninetj^-one  ministers, 
and  two  thousand  one  hundred  and  fifty-eight  churches, 
with  a  membership  of  one  hundred  and  seventy-three 
thousand  three  hundred  and  twenty-nine.  In  1831  the 
additions  to  the  churches  on  examination  were  fifteen 

to  increase  the  number  of  tbe  new  organization  to  about  thirty. 
While  there,  Mr.  Sears  preached  to  a  congregation  of  from  forty  to 
sixty  in  a  -wood-house  at  the  rear  of  a  tavern.  Many  of  the  people 
had  their  own  houses  yet  to  build ;  and  they  had  not  erected  even  a 
school-house.- — Jlisf.  Rfporter,  Nov.  1S;^)1. 


444  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

thousand  three  hundred  and  fifty-seven;  in  1832,  thirty- 
four  thousand  one  hundred  and  sixty ;  in  1833,  twenty- 
three  thousand  five  hundred  and  forty-six  ;  in  1834, 
twenty  thousand  two  hundred  and  ninety-six;  in  1836* 
the  number  had  fallen  to  eleven  thousand  five  hundred 
and  twelve ;  and  in  1837  it  was  onl}^  eleven  thousand 
five  hundred  and  eight}'.  In  the  latter  year  the  aggre- 
gate strength  of  the  Church  was  twenty-three  Synods, 
one  hundred  and  thirty-five  Presbyteries,  two  thousand 
one  hundred  and  forty  ministers,  and  two  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  sixty-five  churcheSj  with  a  member- 
ship of  two  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  five  hundred 
and  fifty-seven.  The  rapid  increase  during  the  earlier 
portion  of  the  period  was  largely  oifset  by  an  actual 
decrease  of  membership  from  1834  to  1837. 

The  new  Presbyteries  erected  previous  to  1834  were 
Delaware,  St.  Louis,  St.  Cliarles,  Tabor,  Clinton  (1831), 
Philadelphia  Second,  Philadelphia  Third,  Long  Island 
Second,  Montrose  (1832),  Schuyler,  Palestine,  Philadel- 
phia Fourth  (Synod's  Second),  Wilmington,  Good  Hope, 
Flint  Puver,  St.  Joseph,  and  Monroe  (1833).  The  mem- 
bership of  the  churches  had  risen  to  two  hundred  and 
thirty-three  thousand  five  hundred  and  eighty,  or  over 
thirteen  thousand  more  than  it  was  four  3'ears  later,  in  ' 
1837.  In  the  reaction  of  some  of  the  causes  which  had 
accelerated  the  growth  of  the  Church,  we  may  find  an 
explanation  in  part  of  this  unprecedented  decline.  To 
these  and  to  other  influences,  which  had  already  begun 
to  oj)erate,  and  which  produced  wide-spread  agitation 
and  excited  grave  apprehension,  our  attention  must 
now  be  directed. 

It  was  in  the  midst  of  the  remarkable  and  unpre- 
cedented advance  of  the  Church,  not  only  in  numbers 
but  in  enterj)risc,  that  the  signs  of  approaching  danger 

1  No  report  was  published  in  1835. 


STATE    AND    PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHURCH,  18S0-1837.    445 

manifested  themselves.  The  Assembly,  unequal  to  the 
task  devolved  upon  it,  had  itself  given  ready  encourage- 
ment to  local  effort.  It  recommended  to  its  Presby- 
teries and  churches  the  various  benevolent  societies 
which  aimed  to  supplement  its  own  short-comings.  In 
1828,  ministers  and  churches  were  urged  to  effort  in 
seeking  out  fit  young  men  as  candidates  for  the  min- 
istry, and  were  directed  to  recommend  them  "  to  the 
Presbytery  within  whose  bounds  they  are  found,  or  to 
some  Education  Society."  In  the  following  j^ear  the 
Assembly  declared  they  would  "  affectionately  solicit 
the  co-operation  of  its  churches  with  its  own  Board  of 
Missions."  Yet,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  many  had 
united  their  efforts  with  the  Home  Missionaiy  Society 
and  the  American  Board,  it  was  resolved  as  the  sense 
of  the  Assembly  "  that  the  churches  should  be  left  en- 
tirely to  their  own  unbiassed  and  deliberate  choice  of 
the  particular  channel"  of  their  charities.  In  the  fol- 
lowing year  similar  language  Avas  employed  with  re- 
ference to  the  cause  of  education.       ^ 

The  resolution  of  1829  on  the  subject  of  co-operation 
with  the  Home  Missionary  Society  was  wai*mly  dis- 
cussed, and  some  strenuous  opposition  to  its  passage 
was  made  by  those  who  wished  the  Church  in  its  or- 
ganic capacity  as  an  ecclesiastical  body  to  make  more 
earnest  and  effective  effort  in  behalf  of  the  missions 
of  its  own  Board ;  but  it  was  at  length  passed  by  an 
overwhelming  majority.  Up  to  this  period  a  remark- 
able degree  of  harmony  had  characterized  the  meetings 
of  the  Assembly.  The  reports  from  the  churches  from 
1826  to  1830  had  been  the  subject  of  mutual  congratu- 
lation and  devout  thanksgiving.  "  Never,"  says  the 
editor  of  the  "Christian  Advocate,"  Dr.  Green  (June, 
1830),  "have  we  seen  a  General  Assembly — and  we 
have  seen  the  most  that  have  met — in  which  there  was 
apparently  so  much   brotherly  love,  so  much  mutual 

Vni     TT— .-^S 


446  HISTORY    OF   PRESBYTERIANISM, 

concession,  and  so  little  in  the  speeches  that  were  made 
to  give  offence  to  opponents  in  argument." 

But  before  the  meeting  of  the  next  Assembly  ominous 
clouds  had  begun  to  appear  in  the  distant  horizon.  The 
conflict  of  theologies  had  begun  in  New  England.^  In- 
deed, for  some  years  there  had  been  a  growing  mutual 
distrust  among  the  ministers  and  churches.  The  views 
and  positions  of  Dr.  Nathaniel  W.  Taylor,  of  New 
Haven,  were  attacked  by  Dr.  Woods,  of  Andover,  and 
by  Dr.  Tyler;  while  the  "  Christian  Advocate"  of  Phila- 
delphia, under  the  charge  of  Dr.  Green,  with  more,  if 
possible,  than  their  own  zeal,  joined  in  the  repudia- 
tion of  the  New  Haven  theology.  It  declared  that 
the.  atonement,  as  a  doctrine  long  held  by  the  Pro- 
testant Church,  was  virtually  and  substantially  rejected 
by  Dr.  Taylor. 

Nor  was  this  all.  The  Assembly's  Board  of  Missions 
— reorganized  in  1828  with  a  view  to  the  more  effective 
prosecution  of  its  work — and  its  Board  of  Education 
were  now  in  the  field,  pressing  their  peculiar  claims 
with  unprecedented  urgency.    In  1830  the  "Missionary 

1  Something  of  the  sti-ength  of  tlieological  prejudice  which  pre- 
vailed at  this  time  (1833)  in  New  England  may  be  inferred  from  the 
statement  given  by  Rev.  (Dr.)  Leverett  Griggs,  of  North  Haven,  in  his 
"Review  of  Twenty-Five  Years'  Ministry  (1858)." 

In  October,  1833,  he  was  ordained  pastor  of  North  Haven  Church. 
"The  excitement  produced  by  what  was  called  the  'New  Haven 
Controversy'  was  at  its  height.  It  was  manifested  on  almost  all 
occasions  when  ecclesiastical  bodies  assembled.  It  was  seldom  that 
a  young  man  was  licensed  or  ordained  without  passing  through  a 
fiery  ordeal."  Having  spent  the  last  two  years  of  his  theological 
course  at  Andover,  Mr.  Griggs,  although  expecting  a  strict  and 
careful  examination,  did  not  dream  of  the  least  difficulty  about  his 
ordination.  To  his  surprise,  he  found  that  by  a  not  small  part  of 
the  Council  he  was  regarded  as  a  rank  heretic.  The  examination 
continued  from  one  o'clock  p.m.  till  midnight;  and  the  motion  to 
ordain  passed  by  the  vote  of  a  bare  majority. 


STATE    AND    PEOGRESS    OF    THE    CHURCH,  1830-1837.   447 

Keporter  and  Education  Kegister"  was  published  in 
tlieir  interest,  and,  by  the  vigorous  efforts  of  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Board  of  Missions,  not  only  was  a  large 
subscription-list  secured  for  it,  but  numei'ous  auxiliaries 
to  the  Board  itself  were  formed.  These  auxiliaries  con- 
sisted of  Sessions,  Churches,  and  Presbj^teries,  and  were 
formed  ii\  such  numbers  in  the  course  of  1830  that  more 
than  two  hundred  and  forty  were  reported  in  a  single 
month.  The  funds  of  the  Board  were  corresjiondingly 
increased.  In  1829,  one  hundred  and  one  missionaries 
had  been  employed  within  the  bounds  of  the  Church, 
and-tho  funds  had  amounted  to  seven  thousand  six  hun- 
dred and  sixty-five  dollars.  In  the  following  year  one 
hundred  and  ninety-eight  were  employed,  more  than 
three  hundred  churches  were  aided,  and  the  receipts 
had  risen  to  fourteen  thousand  four  hundred  and  forty 
dollars.  In  1831  the  increase  upon  this,  both  in  funds 
and  missionaries  employed,  was  between  thirty  and 
forty  per  cent. 

These  were  cheering  facts  to  those  who  favored  action 
distinctively  ecclesiastical.  The  number  of  these,  from 
growing  apprehensions  or  dissatisfaction  with  the  Home 
Missionary  Society,  rapidly  increased.  They  believed, 
and  felt  themselves  justified  by  facts  in  believing,  that 
the  liberality  of  the  Church  could  flow  out  in  channels 
other  than  those  constructed   by  voluntary  societies.^ 

1  In  1828,  when  the  overture  for  the  reorganizfition  of  the  Board 
was  before  the  Assembly,  action  upon  it  had  been  temporarily 
arrested  by  notice  of  a  communication  from  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee of  tlie  Home  Missionary  Society,  who  had  appointed  a  com- 
mittee to  state  their  views  upon  the  general  subject  to  tlie  As- 
sembly. The  committee  were  courteously  heard,  but  the  friends  of 
the  Board  would  not  abandon  it;  and  the  result  w;is  that  the  whole 
subject  was  indetinitely  postponed,  a  committee  of  conference  having 
r.;ported  in  favor  of  the  full  and  independent  authority  of  the  Board 
as  already  constituted,  and  their  report  having  been  adopted  by  the 
Assembly. 


448  HISTORY   OF   PRESBYTERIANISM. 

There  was  now  less  disposition  than  before  to  yield  np 
the  mission-field  almost  exclusively  to  an  irresponsible 
voluntary  society,  over  which  the  Assembly  had  no 
control. 

Thus  the  Assembly's  Board  and  the  Home  Missionary 
Society  were  left  to  occupy  the  same  field.  An  eftb)-t 
was  made  in  1830  to  etfect  arrangements  by  \Vhich  the 
missionary  operations  of  both  at  the  West  should  be 
conducted  through  a  common  Board  of  Agenc3\  This 
measure  was  favored  by  a  committee  of  which  Dr. 
Green  was  chairman;  but  it  was  rejected  by  the  As- 
sembly. In  1831  the  subject  was  again  introduced  by 
a  memorial  from  the  Presbj'tery  of  Madison.  The 
grave  question  was  now  virtually  raised,  whether  by 
the  method  of  constituting  the  Board  it  should  con- 
tinue its  operations.  It  was  at  first  proposed  "  to  re- 
appoint the  present  Board."  This  was  negatived.  The 
committee  appointed  by  the  moderator,  Dr.  Beman, 
to  nominate  members  of  the  Board,  was  regarded  as 
hostile  to  its  existence,  and  the  persons  nominated 
by  them  were  considered  equally  hostile.  A  motion 
was  made  to  lay  tiie  committee's  report  on  the  table; 
but  the  matter  was  finally  compi'omised  by  a  resolution, 
in  which  the  General  Assembly,  '■  in  view  of  existing 
evils  resulting  from  the  separate  action"  of  the  Board 
and  the  Society,  recommended  the  Western  Synods 
with  their  Presbyteries  to  correspond  with  each  other 
and  agree  upon  some  plan  of  conducting  missions,  to 
be  reported  to  the  next  Assembly.  It  was  also  under- 
stood that  they  were  to  "  be  left  to  their  freedom  to 
form  any  organization"  which  they  might  deem  best 
to  promote  the  cause  of  missions. 

But  at  the  West  even  more,  if  possible,  than  at  the 
East,  there  was  a  divided  sentiment  in  respect  to  the 
Home  Missionary  Society.  Some,  and  a  large  number 
throughout  the  country,  regarded  it  as  sufficiently  Pres- 


STATE    AND    PROGllESS    OF    THE    CIIUllCII,  1830-18:57.    449 

byterian.  Its  origin — a  transformation  of  the  United 
Domestic  Missionary  Society — was  Presbyterian.  Its 
most  efficient  aid  Avas  derived  from  Presbyterian 
churches.  Till  1833  more  than  half  its  funds  came 
from  Xew  York  State  alone.  Its  officers  were  Presby- 
terians. Its  Board  of  Directors  in  New  York  was  ex- 
clusivel3^  Presbyterian.  It  was  no  more  than  natural, 
therefore,  that  it  should  be  warmly  cherished  bj-  those 
who  saw  the  good  which  it  was  effecting,  and  who, 
while  more  anxious  for  the  evangelization  of  the  coun- 
try than  for  any  mere  denominational  success,  might 
yet  regard  it  as  the  esj^ecial  aWy  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church. 

But  in  the  minds  of  others  its  very  prosperity  ex- 
cited apprehension.  The  first  year  (1826-27)  its  receipts 
were  but  little  more  than  eighteen  thousand  dollars. 
In  1833  it  expended  more  than  eighty  thousand  dollars. 
Its  one  hundred  and  sixty-nine  missionaries  and  agents 
in  1827  had  multiplied  to  six  hundred  and  seventy-six 
in  1834.  It  had  accomjjlished  a  great  work.  It  had 
brought  into  co-operation  with  itself  the  jSTew  England 
and  the  Western  Societies.  It  had  scattered  its  mis- 
sionaries throughout  the  bounds  of  the  Presbj-terian 
Church,  from  the  Atlantic  States  to  the  field  bej'ond 
the  Missouri,  from  New  York  to  New  Orleans.  From 
the  necessity  of  the  case,  a  large  number  of  its  mis- 
sionaries were  from  New  England.  Some  of  them, 
educated  under  another  system  and  imbibing  their 
peculiar  views  from  teachers  whose  theological  sound- 
ness was  in  some  cases  suspected,  would  not  have  been 
the  best  men  to  secure  confidence  in  the  fields  they 
were  called  to  occupy. 

The  result  was  that,  in  the  midst  of  the  general  pros- 
perity, two  parties  were  formed  in  the  Presbyterian 
Church.  It  was  comparatively  ea.sy  to  excite  alarm 
among  those  who  were  already  jealous  of  New  Eng- 

38* 


450  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

land  influence,  and  who  had  gathered  their  ideas  of 
Kew  England  theology  from  the  reports — diligently 
spread  abroad — of  the  views  presented  in  the  "  Quar- 
terly Spectator,"  which  just  at  this  period  became  the 
organ  of  the  New  Haven  Congregationalists.  On  the 
other  hand,  those  whose  thoughts  were  more  especially 
directed  to  the  great  missionary  field  of  the  Church, 
and  who  had  more  regard  to  results  than  to  the  means 
by  which  they  were  attained,  were  drawn  to  the  so- 
ciety the  more  strongly  in  consequence  of  what  they 
considered  the  groundless  jealousy  and  hostility  of 
others.  A  division  of  sentiment  was  thus  produced 
which  was  continually  becoming  more  marked  and 
irreconcilable.  In  1831  it  had  in  some  quarters  become 
largely  developed.  Before  the  meeting*of  the  Assembly 
in  that  year,  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia  declared 
it  as  their  deliberate  opinion  that  "  it  is  the  duty  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  in  these  United  States  to  conduct 
Christian  missions,  both  foreign  and  domestic,  in  her 
distinctive  character."  Similar  resolutions  were  passed 
by  quite  a  number  of  the  Western  Presbyteries.  Some 
of  them  unhesitatingly  declared  the  "transaction  of  the 
missionary  business  appertaining  to  the  Church  in  her 
distinctive  character  too  sacred  to  be  safely  committed 
to  any  irresponsible  and  self-created  body."^ 

In  the  Assembly  it  became  a  grave  question  whether 
the  Board  of  Missions  of  1830  should  be  reappointed. 
It  was  no  less  to  the  friends  of  the  American  Home 
Missionary  Society  than  whether  the  spirit  of  jealousy, 
if  not  hostility,  toward  it,  should  be  sanctioned  or 
allowed  to  triumph.  It  had  been  proposed  that  a  com- 
mittee should  be  appointed  to  nominate  the  members 
of  the  Board  for  the  ensuing  year.  On  the  motion  to 
postpone  this  with  a  view  to  taking  up  a  resolution  re- 

1  Presbytery  of  Louisville;  and  others  in  almost  the  same  words. 


STATE    AND    PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHURCH,   1830-1837.    451 

appointing  the  old  Board,  wjirm  discussion  ensued,  and 
the  yeas  and  nays  "were  called  for.  The  vote  stood — in 
favor  of  the  motion  eighty-seven,  against  it  one  hun- 
dred and  nine.  Yet  a  resolution  was  subsequently 
passed  reappointing  the  old  Board.  Several  members 
of  it — whose  names  indicate  their  sympathies^ — imme- 
diately resigned.  Evidently  they  were  unwilling  to  be 
the  instruments  of  demanding  for  the  Board  the  exclu- 
sive patronage  of  the  churches,  or  acting  in  its  behalf 
in  the  collisions  with  the  Home  Missionary  Society 
which  must  almost  necessarily  ensue. 

While  such  Avas  the  divided  sentiment  of  leading 
members  of  the  Church,  the  Western  Convention  was 
held.  A  large  number  of  the  Presbyteries  were  repre- 
sented. The  Subject  was  fully  and  warm!}'  discussed 
for  several  da^'s.  It  was  then  found  that  the  views  of 
the  Presbyteries  were  so  discordant  that  no  common 
plan  could  be  adopted.^  The  project  of  a  Western 
Board  under  the  care  of  the  Assembly  was  rejected, 
by  a  vote  of  forty-one  to  twenty-eight.  Of  the  fifteen 
Presbyteries  represented,  one  was  in  favor  of  the 
American  Home  Missionary  Society.  One  favored 
both  this  and  the  Assembly's  Board.  Two  preferred 
an  independent  Western  Society.  One  was  in  favor  of 
ecclesiastical  supervision;  and  seven  favored  the  As- 
sembly's Board.  No  change,  therefore,  was  recom- 
mended by  the  convention,  and  the  two  agencies  were 
left  each  to  pursue  its  independent  course.  It  was  only 
natural  that  the  friends  of  the  Board  should  extend  a  cold 
welcome,  in  a  field  which  they  claimed  as  their  own,  to  a 
society  which  came  into  rivalry  with  it. 

1  Drs.  McAuley,  McDowell,  and  Skinner,  and  Messrs.  Patterson, 
Barnes,  James  Moore,  and  G.  W.  Blight. 

^  The  failure  of  the  convention  to  harmonize  was  cliarged  to  the 
influence  of  the  Synod  of  Pittsburg,  whose  presence  had  not  been 
expected. 


452  iiicToiiv  or  Presbyterian  ism. 

An  overture  avixs  presented  to  the  Assembly  of  1831 
on  the  subject  of  Foreign  Missions,  from  Dr.  John  H. 
Itiee.  This  venertiblo  jnan  was  now  approaching  the 
close  of  his  laborious  and  useful  career.  He  had  been 
from  the  first  the  steady  and  consistent  friend  of  what 
in  1828  he  termed  "  the  union  which  happily  subsists 
between  our  Church  and  the  orthodox  of  New  Eng- 
land." He  had  said,  "Should  the  Presbyterian  Church 
withdi-aw  from  others  in  this  cause  [united  exertion  for 
missions],  we  venture  to  predict  her  future  history;" 
and  that  future  he  drew  in  the  darkest  colors.  He  de- 
clared himself  (1820)  "much  grieved  at  the  controversy 
about  the  American  Education  Society."  The  brethren 
on  both  sides  he  regarded  as  sincere;  nor  did  he  "think 
that  the  thing  originated  in  sectarian  jealous3^"  Yet, 
with  these  views,  he  felt  that  something  should  be  done 
to  enlist  the  sympathies  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
more  largely  in  the  cause  of  missions.  The  theological 
discussions  of  the  day  were  repugnant  to  him.  "  The 
evangelical  men,"  he  said,  "  are  disputing,  some  for  old 
orthodoxy  and  some  for  new  metaphysics."  He  grieved 
over  "  the  spirit  of  controversy"  which  prevailed,  and 
preferred  the  exei'cise  of  Christian  love  and  prudence 
to  disputation.  Yet  he  did  not  feel  altogether  satisfied 
with  the  New  Haven  theology.  "I  do  not  yet  know," 
he  wrote  (1829)  to  Dr.  Woods,  '•  what  our  brother  Tay- 
lor is  driving  at.  I  find  it  hard  to  understand  him.  Is 
the  fault  in  me,  or  in  him?" 

Y^et,  with  unabated  attachment  to  members  of  both 
parties,  and  with  a  charity  for  others  that  knew  no 
diminution,  he  perceived  that  something  should  bo 
done  to  arouse  the  Presbyterian  Church  to  a  more 
active  missionary  spirit.  II*e  saw,  or  thought  he  saw, 
the  kindling  of  a  sectarian  zeal.  He  felt  that  there 
was  "a  storm  raging  against  Presbyterians."  That 
Congregationalists   and  Presbyterians  were  "further 


STATE    AND    PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHURCH,  1830-1837.   453 

apart  than  they  were  some  years"  previous,  he  con- 
Bidered  "manifest."  He  thouglit  he  saw  on  his  visit  to 
Boston  "a  growth  in  the  strength  of  New  England 
feeilncr  "  Presbyterian  feeling  also  was  "  considerably 
roused  up  "  Yet "  these  denominations,"  he  says,  "  have 
in  every  particular  the  same  enemies,  who  are  everlast- 
ingly attaclving  them."  _ 

In  these  circumstances,  he  declared  himself  m  fovor 
of  some  plan  for  promoting  in  the  Prcsbytermn  Church 
<^  the  true  spirit  of  missions,"  and  not  "  the  Frcshytenan 
spirit,"  which  in  his  view  had  been  '•  so  awakened  up 
that  he  began  "to  apprehend  that  no  power  of  man 
will  ever  bring  the  whole  body  to  unite  under  what  is 
thought  to  be  a  Congregational  Board."     "  I  wdl  never 
do  any  thing,"  he  said,  "to  injure  the  wisest  and  best 
missionary  society  in  the  world,-the  American  Board. 
But  can  no  ingenuity  devise  a  scheme  of  a  Presbyterian 
Branch,-co-ordinate,-sufiiciently  connected  with  the 
Assembly  to  satisfy  scrupulous^  Presbytenans,  yet  m 
union  with  the  original  Board  V 

Here  was  the  germ  of  his  overture,-one  that  does 
honor  both  to  his  head  and  heart.     The  draught  came 
from  his  sick  and,  as  it  proved,  his  dying  bed ;_  but  he 
felt  that  its  spirit  did  not  jar  with  the  occasion.     It 
called  the  attention  of  the  Church  to  the  subject  of  a 
modified  co-operation  with  the  American  Board,  yet 
with  the  principle  distinctly  embodied  in  it  "  that  the 
Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States  is  a  mis- 
sionary society,  the  object  of  which  is  to  aid  in  the 
conversion   of  the  world,  and    every  member  of  the 
Church  is  a  member  for  life  of  said  society,  and  bound, 
in  maintenance  of  his  Christian  character,  to  do  all  in 
his  power  for  the  accomplishment  of  the  object.' 

The  overture  was  presented,  and  a  committee  was 
appointed  to  confer  with  the  American  Board.     It  was 


4^^    -  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

considered  by  some  as  unwisely  constituted;^  and,  in 
the  apprehension  that  some  arrangement  would  be 
made  which  would  forestall  ecclesiastical  action  in 
favor  of  a  Foreign  Board,  the  Sj-nod  of  Pittsburg  (1831) 
constituted  itself  a  Foreign  Missionary  Society,  com- 
posed of  its  ministers,  »Sessions,  and  churches,  and  styled 
itself  The  Western  Foreign  Missionary  Society  of  the  United 
States.  It  invited  the  co-operation  of  other  Presbyterian 
churches  or  Synods.  Thus,  in  a  form  which  Dr.  Eice 
had  not  anticipated,  and  which  he  had  sought  to  guai-d 
against,  the  germ  of  distinctive  Presbyterian  effort  for 
foreign  missions  was  developed.  The  committee — as 
constituted — made  no  satisfactory  arrangement  with 
the  American  Boai'd,  and  the  Synod  of  Pittsburg  had 
taken  a  step  which  it  was  impossible  to  retrace.  The 
fraternal  spirit  which  allowed  free  voluntary  contri- 
butions on  both  sides  was  fast  disappearing.  Compro- 
mise Avas  no  longer  possible.  Dr.  Eice,  who  might 
have  acted  as  a  mediator  in  the  strife,  had  already 
passed  from  the  scene. 

At  this  juncture  it  was  natural  that  those  who  were 
distinctively  Presbyterian  should  feel  a  jealousy  of  the 
presence  and  influence  in  the  Assembly  of  delegates 
from  the  Plan-of-Union  churches.  Constituted  as  the 
Assembly  repeatedly  was,  so  that  a  few  votes  would 
turn  the  scale  on  important  questions,  they  felt  it  hard 
that  a  committee-man  not  an  elder  in  the  Church  should 
be  allowed  such  a  measure  of  power.  The  question 
raised  was  a  new  one.  It  had  never  been  agitated,  it 
had  never  fairl}'  been  regarded  as  a  question,  before. 
In  1827,  arrangements  were  made  with  general  approval, 

1  That  is,  for  attaining  the  object  suggested  in  Dr.  Rice's  overture. 
Drs.  McDowell,  McAuley,  and  Richards  were  the  committee.  At 
the  meeting  of  the  Board,  tliey  composed  three  of  a  committee  of 
six,  who  reported  unanimously  against  making  any  change  respect- 
ing the  relations  of  the  Board  to  the  Presbyterian  Church. 


STATE    AND    PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHURCU,  1830-1S37.   455 

and  b}'  the  consent  of  both  parties,  to  abrogate  that 
feature  in  the  correspondence  between  the  New  Engkuid 
Associations  and  the  Assembly  by  which  the  delegates 
from  dither  body  were  allowed  to  vote  in  that  to  which 
they  were  sent.  Massachusetts  alone  objected;  but  in 
1830  her  consent  was  secured.  Thus,  in  an  orderly 
manner  and  with  harmony  of  feeling,  this  result  was 
attained.  But  meanwhile  the  more  scrupulous  mem- 
bers of  the  Assembly  had  raised  the  question  of  the 
constitutionality  of  allowing  not  only  congregational 
deleo-ates,  but  committee-men  from  Plan-of-Union 
churches,  the  right  to  sit  as  full  members  of  the  As- 
sembly. The  first  case  that  arose  was  in  1820;  but  the 
committee  to  whom  it  was  referred  reported  in  favor 
of  the  principle,  established  by  the  Plan  of  Union,  that 
the  rights  of  a  committee-man  were  the  same  in  regard 
to  delegation  as  those  of  a  ruling  elder.  In  1826  an- 
other case  occurred,  in  which,  however,  the  delegate 
was  not  even  a  committee-man,  which  was  decided  in 
the  same  manner.  But  the  decision  was  met  by  a 
protest  of  forty-two  members,  some  of  them  differing 
widely  on  other  points.  In  reply,  the  Assembly  said 
that  every  Presbytery  was  to  judge  of  the  qualifications 
of  its  own  members,  amenable  to  the  Synod  and  not  to 
the  General  Assembly,  and  that  unauthenticated  verbal 
testimony  should  not  be  allowed  to  set  aside  an  authen- 
ticated written  document. 

In  1831  a  similar  case  occurred.  It  was  decided 
as  before,  and  the  decision  was  met  by  a  similar  yet 
more  earnest  and  elaborate  protest,  signed  b}^  sixty- 
eight  members.  The  substance  of  the  reply  to  it  on 
the  part  of  the  Assembly  was  that  to  deny  the  delegate 
a  seat  would  be  a  violation  of  the  Plan  of  Union,  and 
that  wViile  the  admission  of  the  member  might  seem 
a  violation  of  the  letter  it  was  not  a  violation  of  the 
spirit  of  the  constitution.     At  a  later  stage  of  the  pro- 


456  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

eeedings,  when  the  absence  of  some  members  had  given 
the  party  of  the  jjrotestants  the  majority,  a  resolution 
was  passed  discountenancing  the  election  of  committee- 
men, and  declaring  it  to  be  "  inexpedient  and  of  ques- 
tionable constitutionality." 

Yet  in  1832  there  were  committee-men  among  the 
delegates.  They  submitted  their  commissions,  but  finally 
withdrew  them.  A  resolution  was  then  passed  that  the 
Plan  of  Union,  "  truly  construed,  does  not  authorize  any 
committee-man  to  sit  and  act  in  any  case  in  any  Synod 
or  in  the  Cieneral  Asserabl}'." 

To  add  to  the  feeling  which  was  thus  excited,  reports 
were  current  that  some  of  the  Presbyteries  in  the 
Northern  Synods  had  received  ministers  from  Congre- 
gational churches  Avithout  requiring  their  assent  to  the 
Confession  of  Faith  and  form  of  government. ^  As  early 
as  1826  the  zeal  of  the  Synod  of  Pittsburg  had  been 
directed  to  this  matter,  and  in  an  overture  to  the  As- 
sembly they  expressed  their  "  deep  and  growing  con- 
cern" under  the  apprehension  Avhich  they  felt  of  the 
danger  to  which  the  "  constitutional  standards,  eccle- 
siastical institutions,  and  doctrinal  purity  of  the  Church 
were  exposed."  In  succeeding  years  this  Avas  a  subject 
in  regard  to  Avhich  increasing  numbers  professed  to  feel 
alarm. 

The  sj'stcm,  moreover,  of  conducting  revivals  in  con- 

1  Dr.  Green  was  one  of  the  first  to  take  and  give  the  alarm.  In 
July,  1831  ("Christian  Advocate,"  p.  362),  he  said,  "This  Church, 
it  is  our  solemn  conviction,  has  reached  a  most  important  and,  in 
our  view,  a  very  fearful  crisis."  Yet  he  says,  again,  "We  have,  in- 
deed, heard  a  rumor — wliicli  we  mention  to  say  that  we  do  not  credit 
it — that  there  arc  Tresbyteries  in  connection  with  the  General  As- 
sembly in  which  the  questions  required  in  our  constitution  to  be 
affi'.-matively  answered  by  candidates  for  the  gospel  ministry  at  their 
licensure  are  not  put  to  the  candidates,  or,  at  least,  it  is  not  held 
indispensable  that  tliey  should  be  put  " — p.  364. 


STATE    AND    PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHURCH,  1830-1837.    457 

nection  with  the  laboi'S  of  evangelists,  was  during  the 
early  part  of  this  period  carried  to  an  extent  altogether 
unprecedented,  and  for  a  while  its  popularity  forbade 
an}^  general  resistance  to  it.  Mr.  Nettleton  and  Dr. 
Bccchcr,  however,  were  conspicuous  in  opposition  to 
what  were  termed  the  "New  Measures,"  which  had 
been  largely  introduced  by  Mr.  Finney  and  his  imitators 
in  Western  New  York.*  But  they  were  thought  to  have 
exaggerated  the  evil  which  they  condemned;  and  when, 
a  few  years  later,  it  began  to  manifest  itself  more  openly 
and  justify  the  fears  they  had  expressed,  it  was  boldly 
and  effectuall}^  resisted  by  the  Presbyteries  and  ministers 
generally  of  Western  New  York.  There  were  extrava- 
gances and  questionable  measures,  indiscretions  of  men 
who  hastily  assumed  the  office  of  evangelists,  and  which 
only  worked  mischief;  but  the  results,  sad  as  they  were 
in  some  respects,  were  by  no  means  such  as  permanently 
to  affect  the  integrity  of  the  churches  as  a  body. 

Still,  there  were  extravagances  and  disorders.  Sus- 
picion had  materials  to  work  upon.  The  report  was 
spread,  and  impressions  went  abroad  in  some  quarters, 
that  Western  New  York  was  altogether  unsound.  Ap- 
prehension was  felt  and  expressed  in  regard  to  the  evils 
which  might  thence  result  to  the  Presbyterian  Church 
at  large. 

In  various  quarters  it  was  claimed,  in  behalf  of  those 
who  expressed  alarm,  that  dangerous  errors  Avere  rife; 
that,  through  New  England  influence  and  candidates 
sent  out  as  home  missionaries  from  New  England,  these 
errors  were  finding  their  way  into  the  Presbyterian 
Church.  New  Haven,  indeed,  was  regarded  as  the 
fountain-head  of  heresy.  The  professors  in  the  Theo- 
logical Seminary  had  put  forth  speculations  which  had 

1  New  York    Observer,    1827-28:    Correspondence    of   Nettleton, 
Beecher,  Aikin,  &c. 
Vol.  XL— 39 


458  HISTORY    OF    PPvK!5BYTi;i:lA:;iSM. 

occasioned  not  only  earnest  discussion,  but  disturbance, 
and  even  alienation  of  feeling,  in  New  England.  Men 
like  Dr.  Woods,  of  Andover,  Dr.  Grifnn,  Dr.  Tjier,  and 
Mr.  JSTettleton  made  no  secret  of  their  apprehensions. 
The  former  wrote  to  Mr.  Plumer  (Feb.  8,  1836),  "  I 
believe  what  you  say,  that  there  is  a  perfect  under- 
standing among  thos-e  in  every  part  of  our  country 
who  are  opposed  to  Calvinism,  and  that  they  are  acting 
in  concert;  that  there  is  an  alarming  looseness  anion;^- 
.  young  preachers,  and  that  there  is  a  fixed  determination 
to  maintain  a  party  holding  loose  opinions,  and  that 
there  must  be  a  battle  fought  here,  and  there,  and 
everywhere."  "  The  fact  is  that  Dr.  Porter,  Mr.  Evarts, 
and  Dr.  Cornelius  were  most  deeply  alarmed  and  dis- 
tressed with  the  loose  speculations  which  have  come 
from  the  Xew  Haven  School  and  from  Mr.  Finnc}"  and 
others  of  that  stamp.  I  know  how  they  all  felt,  and 
what  a  full  conviction  they  had  that  the  notions  Avhich 
are  peculiar  to  Dr.  Taylor  and  Mr.  Finney  would  un- 
dermine the  fair  fabric  of  our  evangelical  churches  and 
spread  a  system  far  more  unscriptural  and  pernicious 
than  Wesleyan  Methodism." 

The  views  of  Dr.  Grriffin  were  not  dissimilar.  Sj^eaking 
of  the  New  Haven  speculations,  he  said,  "  I  consider  the 
honor  of  raising  to  spiritual  life  a  Avorld  dead  in  tres- 
passes and  sins,  as  one  of  the  brightest  glories  of  the 
Godhead;  and  I  have  been  grieved  at  my  heart  to  see 
this  honor  taken  away.  This  has  been  the  severest  cut 
of  aU." 

Yet  in  some  portions  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  the 
effort  was  made  to  identify  New  Haven  divinity  with 
New  England  divinity,^  and  cover  with  odium  all  who 


'  "Great  pains  have  been  taken  to  make  the  impression  that  New 
Haven  divinity  is  New  England  divinity,  and  in  this  way  to  awaken 
jealousy   and    prejudice   in    the   Presbyterian  Church    against  the 


STATE   AND    PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHURCH,  1830-1837.   459 

entered  the  Church  from  New  England.  A  blind  zeal 
refused  to  discriminate.^  All  were  classed  together. 
"Old  School"  men,  if  from  New  England,  were  still 
Congi-egationalists.  The  Third  Pi-esbytery  of  New 
York  became  subject  to  grave  susjiicions.  In  Phila- 
delphia, men  like  Skinner  and  Patterson  wei-e  accounted 
errorists,  if  not  charged  with  heresy.  The  preaching 
which  was  full  of  the  life  and  power  of  the  gospel,  and 
which  took  the  form  of  direct  aggression  upon  the  power 
of  darkness,  was  sj^oken  of  v\nth  contempt.  The  feeling 
which  had  been  displayed  by  the  Old  Side  at  the  time 
of  the  division  nearly  a  century  before,  seemed  still  to 
linger  about  the  scenes  of  its  former  triumj)h.  The 
jealousy  which  had  attempted  to  defeat  the  entrance 
of  such  men  as  Dr.  Cox,  and  Dr.  Howe  of  South  Caro- 
lina, into  the  ministry,  and  had  embarrassed  Patterson 
in  efforts  for  city  evangelization  w^orth}-  of  a  Chalmers, 
was  reawakened,  and  a  large  portion  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church,  who  scarcely  knew  the  jDeculiarities  of 
New  Haven  theology,  or  who  would  have  repudiated 
all  sympathy  with  them,  if  they  had  known  them,  was 
held  up  to  reproach  and  covered  with  odium. 

In  these  circumstances,  it  is  scarcely  surj)rising  that 
such  results  followed  as  those  which  history  is  called  to 
note.  Much  might  well  be  conceded  to  the  vigilance 
which  would  guai'd  against  the  silent  and  stealthy  jjro- 
gress  of  doctrinal  error.  Much  might  well  be  said  of 
the  danger  to  be  incurred  b}-  the  indulgence  of  that 
fanaticism  which  resolved  revivals  into  the  enthusiastic 
employment  and  right  management  of  spiritual  ma- 
chinery. But  when  the  innocent  were  classed  with  the 
guilty,  when  an  indiscriminate  condemnation  was  meted 

ministers  and  churches  of  New  England  generally." — Letters  on  the 
Origin  and  Progress  of  the  New  Haven  Theology,  p.  108. 

^  See,  among  other  things,  one  of  the  pamphlets  of  Dr.  Wilson,  of 
Cincinnati,  published  about  1831. 


460  HISTORY    OF   PRESBYTERIANISM. 

out  to  those  who  reproved  as  well  as  to  those  who 
favored  revival  extravagances,  and  when  garbled  ex- 
tracts of  books  and  sermons  w^ere  seized  upon  as  the 
means  of  exciting  suspicion  against  the  orthodoxy  of 
men  whom  time  has  proved  as  sound  in  faith  as  their 
accusers  themselves,  it  is  evident  that  unhallowed  mo- 
tives or  unwise  counsels  had  begun  to  operate. 

The  antagonism  which  rent  asunder  associations  and 
even  divided  chui-ches  in  New  England  was  destined 
to  a  kindred  development  within  the  bounds  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church.  In  1829,  Mr.  Barnes  was  called 
from  the  church  of  Morristown  to  Philadelphia,  and  a 
sermon  which  he  had  published  on  the  Way  of  Salva- 
tion— doubtless  shaped  somewhat  by  the  controversy 
with  Arminianism  in  which  it  originated,  and  containing 
expressions  which  some  of  his  friends  regretted — was 
made  the  basis  of  opposition  to  his  reception  and  in- 
stallation. In  1832,  Mr.  Duffield,  of  Carlisle,  was  jiut 
on  trial  for  doctrines  presented  in  a  work  from  his  pen 
on  the  subject  of  Eegeneration.  And  in  1835  the  case 
of  Dr.  Beecher,  arraigned  for  doctrinal  error,  drew  the 
attention  of  the  whole  country. 

As  to  the  case  of  Mr.  (Dr.  George)  Duffield,  his  Presby- 
tery, before  taking  any  direct  steps  toward  his  prosecution, 
resolved  to  investigate  the  doctrinal  positions  laid  down  in 
the  volume  mentioned  above.  It  had  recently  been  pub- 
lished, and  bore  on  the  title  page  its  author's  name.  Some 
of  its  teachings  were  regarded  as  dangerous  and  unsound. 
In  April,  1832,  the  attention  of  the  Presbytery  of  Carlisle 
was  called  to  this  book  by  Rev.  James  Williamson, 
a  member  of  the  Presbytery,  who  complained  of  it  as 
containing  doctrinal  errors,  and  asked  the  appointment 
of  a  committee  of  Presbytery  to  examine  and  expose 
them.  Mr.  Duffield  was  absent  at  the  time;  and,  at  the 
suggestion  of  a  member,  the  matter  was  postponed  till 
he  should  be  present.   It  was  then  demanded  that  some 


STATE    AND    PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHURCH,   1830-1837,    -461 

one  should  come  forward  as  a  responsible  prosecutor; 
but  no  one  was  willing  to  appear.  The  method  pro- 
posed was  pronounced  b}'  Drs.  McKnight  and  Do  Witt 
to  be  unconstitutional.  Let  the  charge  of  heresy  be 
made,  they  said,  and  sustained,  if  possible.  But  to  this 
the  majority  would  not  accede.  It  was  resolved  to  ai)- 
point  an  examining  committee  on  the  ground  of  "cry- 
ing fame,"  although  the  obnoxious  book  had  not  yet 
been  delivered  to  the  subscribers.  But  attacks  had 
already  been  directed  against  it  in  the  columns  of  pub- 
lic journals,  and  two  or  three  members,  possibly,  of  the 
Presbytery  had  hastily  perused  it. 

Dr.  Duffleld  took  no  part  in  the  proceedings  till  the 
committee  had  been  appointed.  He  then  objected  to 
the  measure  as  unconstitutional,  complaining,  more- 
over, that,  notwithstanding  their  intimac}^,  the  mover 
of  the  resolution  for  the  appointment  of  the  committee 
liad  never  called  to  confer  with  him  on  the  subject. 
Mr.  Williamson  was  appointed  chairman  of  the  com- 
mittee, which,  with  the  least  possible  delay,  brought 
forward  its  report,  divided  into  twelve  sections.  Mr. 
Duffield  proposed  a  friendly  conference  as  to  the  doc- 
trinal views  of  the  members  of  Presbytery,  and  ex- 
pressed his  readiness  to  communicate  freely  his  own 
sentiments,  but  objected  emphatically  to  a  judicial  ex- 
amination or  decision  concerning  his  book  on  the  re- 
port of  the  committee.  His  objection  Avas  overruled, 
however,  and  the  Presbytery  proceeded  to  condemn 
the  obnoxious  positions  pointed  out  in  the  committee's 
report. 

Mr.  Duffield  disclaimed  holding  some  of  the  views  with 
which  his  book  was  charged,  and  complained  that  in  their 
condemnation  he  had  been  virtually  prejudged.  His  trial, 
however,  followed.  On  the  ground  of  common  fame 
he  was  charged  with  maintaining  and  industriously  prop- 
agating,  both   from    the    pulpit   and    through   the   press, 

3!»* 


462  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYXERIANISM. 

doctrines  or  opinions  absurd  or  at  variance  with  vital 
truths  and  with  doctrines  taught  in  the  standards  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church.  These  w^ere  classified  under  ten 
counts.  On  all  of  these  excej^t  two  he  was  found  guilty. 
Yet  the  Presbytery,  on  his  alleging  that  his  expressions 
had  been  misinterpreted, — that  he  did,  in  fact,  hold 
all  the  doctrines  of  the  Church,  and  desired  in  amity 
Avith  his  brethren  to  labor  uninterruptedly  for  the  glory 
of  God  and  the  salvation  of  souls, — declined  further 
censure,  only  warning  him  to  guard  against  dangerous 
speculations  and  study  to  maintain  the  unity  of  the 
Spirit  in  the  bond  of  peace. ^ 

It  was  while  the  state  of  feeling  indicated  b}^  this 
trial  and  the  opposition  to  Mr.  Barnes  was  becoming 
rapidly  developed,  that  Dr.  Lyman  Beecher  was  called 
(1832)  from  Boston  to  the  charge  of  the  Theological 
Professorship  in  Lane  Seminary.  The  well-known  op- 
ponent of  Unitarian  error  and  of  the  "  ncAV  measures" 
of  the  Western  revivals, — originally  a  Presbyterian 
pastor  on  Long  Island,  and  repeatedly,  as  a  delegate 
from  New  England,  a  member  of  the  General  Assemblj'-, 
— he  was  regarded  as  pre-eminently  the  man  to  occupy 
the  most  responsible  post  within  the  bounds  of  the 
Mississippi  Yalley.  The  founder  of  the  professorship 
had  named  him  as  the  incumbent;  but  the  condition  of 
the  endowment  was  not  unacceptable  to  the  prominent 
men  in  the  "Western  field.  His  accession  to  their  ranks 
was  hailed  w^ith  gratulation,  and  Dr.  Nelson,  of  Dan- 
ville, and  Dr.  Wilson,^  of  Cincinnati,  as  Avell  as  the  pro- 

1  This  action  of  the  Presbytery  was  disapproved  by  the  Synod; 
but  it  served  to  encourage  disaffection  in  the  church  of  Carlisle, 
and  led  ultimately  to  a  secession  and  the  organization  of  another 
church.  In  1835,  Dr.  Duffield  accepted  a  call  to  a  church  in  Phila- 
delphia, and  was  transferred  to  another  Presbytery. 

"  Davidson's  Kentucky,  365  ;  Sprague's  Annals.  [Dr.  Wilson  con- 
Tened    the    Board    of   Directors   of   the   Seminary  at  his  tent  at  a 


STATE    AND    PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHURCH,  1830-1837.    463 

fessors  at  Princeton,  were  consulted  iu  the  matter,  and 
gave  expression  of  their  satisfaction  with  the  arrange- 
ment. 

Dr.  Beecher  accepted  the  appointment,  and  removed 
to  Cincinnati  (September,  1832).  On  his  wa}^  he  trans- 
ferred his  ecclesiastical  relations  to  the  Third  Presby- 
tery of  [New  York,  and  by  that  body  was  dismissed  to 
the  Presbytery  of  Cincinnati.  It  was  a  step  well  cal- 
culated to  excite  distrust;  and  he  had  been  only  a  short 
time  at  his  post  when  his  doctrinal  views  began  to  ex- 
cite suspicion.^  He  was  not  a  man  to  conceal  his  senti- 
ments, and  courted  rather  than  shunned  investigation. 
Dr.  Wilson  became  his  prosecutor.  This,  however,  was 
only  after  a  vain  endeavor  to  institute  process  on  the 
ground  of  common  fame.  Dr.  Beecher  was  charged 
with  holding  and  teaching  Pelagian  and  Arminian  doc- 
trine in  respect  to  Free  Agency,  Accountability,  Ori- 
ginal Sin,  Total  Depravity-,  Regeneration,  and  Christian 
Character,  contrary  to  the  Confession  and  the  word  of 
God.^ 

Presbyterian  camp-meeting,  at  which  meeting  Dr.  Beecher  was  elected 
professor.]  F. 

1  In  the  case  of  Dr.  Beecher  the  same  method  of  reaching  him 
without  a  trial,  which  had  previously  been  attempted  in  the  cases 
of  Mr.  Barnes  and  Mr.  Duffield,  was  attempted.  The  Presbytery 
of  Cincinnati  was  "called  upon  to  appoint  a  committee  to  examine 
some  of  Dr.  Beecher's  sermons  and  report  whether  they  contained 
doctrines  at  variance  with  the  standards  of  our  Church."  This  call 
was  disregarded  by  the  Presbytery,  and  complaint  was  made  to  the 
Synod;  but  they  replied  that  the  Presbytery  could  not  be  compelled 
to  take  up  the  charges  without  a  responsible  prosecutor.  From 
this  decision  an  appeal  was  taken  to  the  General  Assembly;  but  it 
was  cast  out  by  the  Judicial  Committee.  Thus,  the  only  course  left 
was  to  present  charges. — Beecher's  Trial,  p.  3.  The  language 
quoted  above  is  Dr.  Wilson's. 

2  The  charges  were  based  on  a  sermon  of  Dr.  Beecher  which  Dr. 
Wilson  prior  to  Dr.  Beecher's  election  had  said  he  believed  to  be 
sound.  F. 


464  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

With  these  charges  were  connected  others,  which 
•bore  upon  his  moi-al  character.  He  was  accused  of 
slandering  the  Church,  and  attemjiting  to  bring  odium 
upon  all  who  sincerely  received  the  standards  of  the 
body  with  which  he  was  now  connected.  He  was  ac- 
cused of  "the  sin  of  hypocrisy"  or  "dissimulation  in  im- 
portant religious  matters."  He  had  declared  his  full  ac- 
ceptance of  the  Confession  of  Faith,  while  aware  that 
his  own  views,  as  repeatedly  advocated,  were  opposed 
to  it.  This  he  had  done,  in  the  oj)inion  of  Dr.  Wilson, 
for  popular  eifect. 

The  Presb3^tery  met  for  the  trial  June  9,  1835.  It 
was  no  ordinary  occasion.  Both  the  prosecutor  and 
tbe  accused  were  no  common  men.  Dr.  Wilson  had 
been  for  nearly  thirty  years  pastor  of  the  First  Church 
in  Cincinnati.  By  his  own  almost  unaided  energy  he 
had  acquired  an  education,  and  from  his  first  entrance 
upon  the  ministr}^  had  been  a  man  of  mark.  For  more 
than  a  quarter  of  a  century  he  had  been  regarded  as  a 
leader  and  as  one  of  the  fathers  of  the  Church.  In- 
tensely devoted  to  the  body  with  which  he  had  been  so 
long  identified,  he  regarded  with  avowed  apprehension 
every  measure  Avhich  threatened  to  disturb  its  integrity. 
AVheu  the  Home  Missionary  Society  came  into  conflict 
with  the  Assembly's  Board  on  the  Western  field,  his 
sympathy  with  the  latter  was  so  sti'ong  as  to  forbid 
any  thought  of  compromise.  In  his  somewhat  cele- 
brated "Four  Propositions"  he  endeavored  to  expose 
the  ambitious  designs  of  the  Home  Missionary  Society. 
On  nearly  every  point,  after  he  had  discovered  his  error 
in  inviting  Gallaher  and  Ross  to  assist  him  in  the  re- 
vival, he  took  the  extreme  ground  of  ecclesiastical  con- 
servatism and  rigid  subscription.  No  one  could  doubt  his 
sincerity.  Not  a  few  regarded  him  as  more  partisan  than 
judicious. 

In   nearly  all   that  could   render   him  a  formidable  op- 


STATE    AND    TROGRESS    OF    THE    CHURCH,  18.'J0-1S37.    405 

ponent,  Dr.  Bcccher  was  not  inferior  to  his  able  prose- 
cutor. In  some  respects  be  was  vastly  bis  superior.  ' 
For  the  last  few  years — a  guardian  of  orthodoxy 
against  Unitarianism  in  the  ver}^  heart  of  its  strength 
— he  bad  been  a  man  of  war,  and  with  a  vigor  of 
thought  and  a  force  of  utterance  rarely  equalled  com- 
bined a  fearless  energy  that  threw  a  charm,  even  in 
the  eyes  of  his  opponents,  over  his  manly  bearing. 

For  several  da3's  the  trial  continued,  with  intense 
and  unabated  interest.  But  the  vindication  of  Dr. 
Beecher  was  so  complete  that  by  a  vote  of  nearly  two 
to  one  it  was  resolved  that  the  cbai-ges  be  not  sustained. 
Dr.  Wilson  appealed  to  Synod.  Here  the  case  was 
gone  over  anew  3  and  again  he  was  defeated.  Fron\ 
the  decision  of  the  Synod  he  appealed  to  the  Assembly 
of  1836;  but,  on  learning  the  facts  in  regard  to  another 
case  which  was  to  come  before  that  body,  in  which 
the  same  princijiles  were  ii^ivolved,  he  asked  and  ob- 
tained leave  to  withdraw  his  appeal.' 

The  case  referred  to  was  that  of  Eev.  Albert  Barnes, 
of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  in  Philadelphia.  In 
1830  this  church,  with  the  hearty  concurrence  of  Dr.  J. 
P.  Wilson,  its  pastor,  had  called  him  as  colleague. 

Of  fifty-four  votes  cast  by  the  congi*egation  there 
was  but  one  adverse  to  his  settlement.  The  church, 
in  due  form,  asked  leave  of  the  Presbytery  of  Phila- 
delphia to  prosecute  the  call.     The  motion  was  made 

1  The  real  fact  was,  some  rogue  on  the  boat  in  the  Ohio  River 
stole  the  doctor's  coat,  money,  and  papers  in  the  case  of  Dr.  Beecher; 
and  he  was  glad  of  any  excuse  for  dropping  the  matter.  F. 

Dr.  Wilson  himself,  in  explaining  his  course,  stated  that  on 
arriving  at  the  Assembly  he  was  urgently  besought  by  his  own 
friends  to  drop  the  prosecution.  They  considered  it  inexpedient  to 
incur  the  odium  of  attacking  Dr.  Beecher,  and  they  flattered  them- 
selves, from  things  he  had  said  and  done,  that  he  would  come  out 
right  at  last. 


466  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

and  secouded  that  leave  be  granted, — when  Dr.  Green 
'ai'ose  and  opposed  it.  The  ground  of  his  objection  was 
a  sermon  recently  preached  by  Mr.  Barnes,  entitled 
"  The  Way  of  Salvation."  It  contained,  he  asserted, 
fundamental  errors.  Unless  explained  to  his  satisfac- 
tion, he  could  not  favor  the  motion. 

He  was  called  to  order,  on  the  ground  that  he  was 
arraigning  a  member  of  another  Presbytery  in  good 
standing  without  a  proper  form  of  trial.  But  the  point 
was  overruled,  and  the  discussion  proceeded.  Several 
members  declared  their  opposition  to  Mr.  Barnes's 
views.  Dr.  Green  was  opposed  to  innovation.  He 
maintained  that  those  who  did  not  hold  the  doctrines 
of  himself  and  the  brethren  who,  with  him,  ojiposed 
Mr.  Barnes  should  withdraw.' 

The  discussion  continued  through  four  days.  Strong 
testimou}^  was  borne  to  Mr.  Barnes's  fidelity  as  a  de- 
voted pastor  b}^  some  who  differed  from  him ;  while  by 
those  who  favored  the  prosecution  of  the  call  the  oppo- 
sition was  pronounced  unfair  and  unkind.  Let  him  be 
received  by  the  Presbytery,  they  said,  and  he  could  then, 
if  it  was  thought  best,  be  put  upon  his  trial.  The  vote 
was  finally  taken,  and  stood — twenty-one  to  twelve — 
in  favor  of  the  prosecution  of  the  call. 

This  was  on  May  20.  On  the  18th  of  June,  Mr. 
Barnes  presented  his  certificate  of  dismission  and  re- 
commendation from  the  Presbytery  of  Elizabethtown 
to  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia.  But  here,  again, 
the  opposition  to  his  reception  was  vigorous  and  per- 
sistent. A  protracted  debate  ensued;  but  finallj^,  on  the 
22d  of  June,  he  was  received  by  a  vote  of  thirty  to  six- 
teen. 

Charges  were  then  presented  against  him  for  un- 
soundness in  the  faith,  with  a  view'^  to  arrest  his  instal- 


>  New  York  Observer,  May  1,  1880.  »  Ibid.  July  3. 


STATE    AND    PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHURCH,  1830-1837.    4G7 

lation.  These  were  decided  by  the  moderator  to  be 
out  of  order  "  at  the  present  meeting  called  for  a 
special  purpose;"  and  the  vote  for  his  installation  stood 
thirty-two  to  seventeen. 

The  dissatisfied  minority  complained  to  the  Synod 
(Oct.  27,  1830).  The  ground  of  their  complaint  was 
the  refusal  of  the  majority  to  allow  the  examination  of 
Mr.  Barnes  before  he  was  received.  The  Synod  sus- 
tained the  ground  of  complaint  by  a  vote  of  thirty  to 
eight,  and  enjoined  the  Presbytery  to  hear  and  decide 
on  the  objections  to  the  orthodoxy  of  Mr.  Barnes's 
sermon. 

In  obedience  to  this  injunction,  the  Presbytery  met, 
l^ovember  30,  for  the  express  purpose  of  taking  up  the 
resolutions  of  Synod.  Dr.  Green  read  a  minute  of 
great  length  on  the  subject  of  the  obnoxious  sermon, 
which  he  wished  the  Presbytery  to  adopt.  Dr.  Ely  ob- 
jected to  taking  any  steps  till  some  person  appeared 
as  Mr.  Barnes's  accuser.  This  motion  was  ruled  out 
of  order;  and  it  was  moved  and  seconded  that  Dr. 
Green's  motion  be  postponed  with  a  view  to  hear  ob- 
jections against  the  sermon.  At  this  stage  of  proceed- 
ings, Dr.  Ely  and  others  entered  their  protest  against 
the  decision  rejecting  his  motion.  He  demanded  that 
the  charges  that  at  a  former  meeting  had  been  made 
against  Mr.  Barnes  should  now  be  produced.  They  had 
been  read,  and  Presbytery  had  given  no  one  leave  to 
withdraw  them  from  their  files.  The  complaint  of  the 
minority  had  respect  to  these  charges.  They  ought 
not  to  be  left  on  the  records  without  final  adjudication. 
Till  they  were  disposed  of,  the  signers  of  them  should 
be  held  as  accusers,  and  especially  as  at  a  previous 
meeting  the  Presbytery  had  resolved  to  take  them  up 
and  consider  them. 

Moreover,  the  vote  of  the  Presbyter}^,  allowing  ob- 
jections to  be  oifered  without  responsible  accusers,  was 


468  HISTORY    OF    I'llESBYTLIllAMSM. 

contrary  to  the  express  directions  of  the  Book  of  Dis- 
cipline, and  really  commenced  a  jDrocess  against  Mr. 
Barnes  in  an  unconstitutional  way.  Dr.  Green's  paper 
contained  numerous  impeachments  of  his  orthodoxy, 
and  proposed  censures,  while  the  method  pursued 
allowed  his  accusers  to  be  also  his  judges. 

Such  was  the  substance  of  the  protest.  Previous  to 
the  next  meeting  of  Presbytery  it  was  signed  by 
twenty-five  members,  who  declared  that  if  the  others 
were  resolved  to  proceed  in  an  unconstitutional  manner 
they  should  withdraw  from  all  participation  in  the  mat- 
ter and  complain  to  the  next  General  Assembly. 

The  motion  to  postpone  in  order  to  hear  objections 
was  then  put,  and  carried  by  a  vote  of  twenty-seven  to 
twenty-one.  Mr.  Barnes  gave  notice  that  he  appealed 
to  the  Assembly,  and  read  a  paper  in  which,  on  the 
ground  of  the  unconstitutionality  of  the  present  pro- 
ceedings, he  requested  to  be  put  on  trial  before  the  Pres- 
bytery, either  on  the  groiind  of  common  fame  or  by  re- 
sponsible accusers.  This  request  was  denied,  and  the 
members  were  allowed,  one  after  another,  to  rise  and 
state  their  objections  to  his  sermon. 

Dr.  Green's  paper  was  finallj''  adopted,  the  fii'st  j^art 
by  a  vote  of  twenty-six,  the  second  by  a  vote  of  twenty- 
five, — the  exact  number  of  the  protestants.  In  behalf 
of  himself  and  the  ]irotestants.  Dr.  Ely  gave  notice  that 
he  should  complain  to  the  next  Assembly.  As  to  Mr. 
Barnes's    appeal,  the   Presbytery  decided    against   his 

riffht  thereto,  on  the  fjround  that  he  had  not  then  sub- 
to  ?  o 

mitted  to  a  trial.  Yet,  when  he  asked  the  privilege  of 
a  trial,  it  was  refused. 

A  committee  was  appointed  to  confer  with  Mr. 
Barnes;  but  he  declared  tliat  he  considered  the  whole 
proceeding  of  the  Presbytery  unconstitutional,  and 
must  consequently  decline  to  hear  them  on  the  subject. 
The  entire  case  was  then  referred  by  the  Presbytery  to 


STATE    AND    PUOGRESS    OF    THE    CHURCH,  1830-1S37.    469 

ihe  Assembly,  while  by  the  minority  it  was  brought 
before  that  body  by  way  of  eomijjaint.^ 

The  Assembly  of  1831  had  thus  the  whole  case  placed 
by  both  parties  in  its  hands.  Several  points  were  made 
by  the  Presbytery  in  regard  to  which  they  desired  a 
decision,  and  by  means  of  which  they  skilfully  entered 
an  argument  in  their  own  vindication.  With  the  con- 
sent of  both  parties,  the  case  was  submitted  to  the  As- 
sembly without  argument,  and  by  them  referred  to  a 
select  committee,  of  which  Drs.  Miller,  Matthews,  Lan- 
sing, risk.  Spring,  McDowell,  and  (Leonard)  Bacon 
were  members. 

Their  report,  which  was  adopted  by  the  Assembly, 
admitted  the  conscientious  zeal  of  the  Presbytery  for 
the  purity  of  the  Church,  and  "a  number  of  unguarded 
and  objectionable  passages"  in  Mr.  Barnes's  sermon, 
but  decided  that  the  Presbytery  should  suspend  further 
proceedings  in  the  case,  and  recommended  a  division 
of  the  body  in  such  a  way  as  to  promote  the  peace  of 
its  ministers  and  churches.  As  to  the  points  presented 
by  the  Presbytery,  it  was  declared  more  advisable  that 
they  should  be  discussed  and  decided  in  thesi  than  in 
connection  with  the  case  of  Mr.  Barnes.* 


'  Quite  a  number  of  important  documents  bearing  upon  the  case 
of  Mr.  Barnes  will  be  found  in  the  Presbyterian  Historical  Society 
Library,  mainly  in  the  Ely  collection.  I  have  not  felt  it  necessary 
to  specify  them  here. 

'^  The  action  of  the  Assembly  of  1831  gave  great  dissatisfaction  in 
some  quarters.  Dr.  Green,  who  complains  that  the  party  with  which 
he  sympathized  had  been,  "in  military  phrase,  completely  outgene- 
ralled  and  taken  perfectly  by  surprise,"  confesses  that  "they  had 
themselves  made  some  exertions  to  secure  a  return  of  such  members 
to  the  Assembly  as  they  believed  would  favor  their  cause,  and  they 
did  not  doubt  but  that  their  opponents  had  done  the  same." — Chris- 
tian Advocate,  1831.  p.  413.  He  admits  for  those  that  acted  with 
him  that  they  "had  taken  more  pains"  to  secure  a  majority  "than 
they  had  ever  used  on  any  previous  similar  occasion." 

Vol.  ir.— 40 


470  HISTORY    OF    PRESEYTERIAXISM. 

These  points  were  not  decided  by  tlie  Assembly  of 
1831;  but  the  first  of  them  came  before  the  Assembly 
of  tlie  following  year.  It  concerned  the  right  of  a 
Presbytery  to  examine  a  minister  or  licentiate  coming 
by  certificate  from  another  Presbytery.  The  committee 
to  whom  it  was  referred  could  not  agree.  The  majority 
and  minority  each  presented  a  report,  and  the  whole 
subject  was  indefinitely  postponed. 

Meanwhile,  however,  the  Synod  declined  to  divide  the 
Presbytery  of  Philadelphia  accoixling  to  the  direction 
of  the  Assembly  of  1831.  The  friends  of  Mr.  Barnes 
complained  to  the  Assembly  of  the  following  year,  and, 
after  long  and  warm  discussions,  continued  through 
several  days,  the  complaint  was  sustained,  although 
without  censure  of  the  Synod,  and  the  prayer  of  the 
petitioners  was  granted.  Fourteen  ministers,  with  the 
churches  connected  with  them,  were  set  off  from  the 
Presbytery  of  Philadelphia,  to  form  the  Presbytery  of 
Philadelphia  Second.  This  was  designed  as  a  peace 
measure.  The  directions  of  the  Assembly  of  1831  had 
been  disregarded,  but  the  contumacy  of  the  Synod  was 
passed  over  as  lightly  as  possible;  while  the  newly- 
electe'd  Presbytery  embraced  the  aggrieved  minority. 

This  measure,  however,  failed  of  the  desired  effect. 
The  Synod,  disregarding  the  action  of  the  Assembly, 
,  created  a  Second  Presbytery  of  its  own,  thus  defeating 
the  object  which  the  Assembly  had  desired  to  attain. 

The  next  year,  1833,  was  fruitful  in  remonstrances 
and  complaints.  The  Synod  of  Philadelphia  remon- 
strated against  the  proceedings  of  the  previous  As- 
sembly. The  Second  Presbytery  complained  against 
the  Synod.  Several  individual  ministers  presented 
their  complaints  to  the  Assembl}^  against  the  same 
body.  The  whole  subject  was  one  of  no  little  per- 
plexity. The  remonstrance  and  complaints  were  all 
referred  to  a  committee,  who  were  diligent  in  invest!- 


STATE    AND    PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHURCH,   1830-1S37.    471 

gating  the  whole  matter  and  in  endeavoring  to  discover 
some  satisfactory  method  of  resolving  the  difficulty. 
After  a  free  conference  with  the  parties  concerned, 
diu'ing  which  "  the  subject  of  the  conference  was  treated 
with  much  tenderness  and  Christian  affection,"  the  com- 
mittee reported,  recommending  a  resolution  to  the  effect 
that  the  complainants  have  leave  to  withdraw  their 
complaints,  and  that  the  consideration  of  all  the  other 
papers  relating  to  the  Second  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia 
be  indefinitely  postponed.  The  report  was  adopted;  and, 
"  from  considerations  of  discretion  and  peace/'  no  judg- 
ment was  passed  on  a  review  of  the  Synod's  records  in 
the  case  of  the  Second  Presbytery.  With  such  satis- 
faction was  this  result  viewed  b}'  the  Assembly  that 
the}-  united  in  prayer,  returning  thanks  to  God  for  his 
goodness  in  bringing  the  affair  to  '-such  an  amicable 
adjustment." 

The  matter,  however,  did  not  end  here.  The  Synod 
took  up  the  subject  of  a  rearrangement  of  the  Presby- 
teries, and.  in  opposition  to  the  wishes  of  the  members 
constituted  b}-  the  Assembly  as  the  Second  Presbyterj^, 
made  a  new  division  by  geographical  lines.  From  this 
action  an  appeal  was  taken  to  the  Assembly  of  1834. 
The  appeal  was  sustained,  and  the  action  of  the  Synod, 
so  far  as  it  was  intended  to  unite  the  two  Presbyteries, 
was  declared  void.  Yet,  as  a  peace  measure,  the  integ- 
rity of  the  Presbj^tery  erected  by  the  Synod  was  not 
distui'bed,  only  it  Avas  recommended  that  its  name  be 
changed.  The  Synod's  Second  Presbytery,  however, 
was  still  known  as  the  Synod's  Second,  and  the  As- 
sembly's as  the  Assembly's  Second,  until  1836,  when  it 
Avas  by  the  Assembly  of  that  year  entitled  the  Third 
Presbytery  of  Philadelphia. 

Thirtj^-eight  members  of  the  Assembly  (1834)  pro- 
tested against  its  action.  The}^  based  their  protest  on 
the  ground  that  the  Assembly  had  invaded  a  jurisdiction 


472  HISTORY    Of    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

exclusively  secured  to  Synods,  and  condemned  alto- 
gether the  forming  of  Presbyteries  on  the  principle 
of  elective  ajjlnity.  This  principle,  however,  was  not 
altogether  new  in  the  history  of  the  Church.  Four 
years  after  the  union  of  the  Synods  in  1758,  the  wishes 
of  the  Old  Side  had  been  consulted  in  the  formation 
of  the  Philadelphia  Second  Presbytery  of  1762,  after- 
ward reconstructed  under  another  name.  The  Third 
Presbytery  of  New  York  had  been  constituted  by  the 
Synod  at  the  request  of  eight  members  to  be  set  oif  in 
a  new  Presbytery,  and  the  results  which  almost  imme- 
diately followed,  in  developments  of  a  new  religious  life 
in  the  churches,  were  thought  to  justify  the  measure.  If 
it  was  unwise  to  allow  the  principle  of  elective  affinity 
to  determine  the  manner  in  which  a  Presbytery  should 
be  constituted,  it  was  at  least  more  unwise  to  offer  it 
studious  opposition.  Its  only  effect  could  be  to  irritate 
and  exasperate. 

To  remove  the  difficulty  from  the  bounds  of  the 
Synod  of  Philadelphia,  the  new  Synod  of  Delaware,"- 
consisting  of  the  Presbyteries  of  Wilmington,  Lewes, 
and  Philadelphia  Second,  was  constituted  by  the  As- 
sembly. The  two  first  were  in  sympathy  with  the  last : 
so  that  there  was  no  longer  any  occasion  for  discord. 

The  Assembly  of  1835  (at  Pittsburg)  was  of  a  different 
character  from  its  predecessors.  It  favored  the  Synod 
of  Philadelphia,  and  pronounced  emphatically  against 
the  principle  of  elective  affinity  in  the  constituting  of 
Presbyteries  and  Synods.  In  consistency  with  its  decla- 
rations, it  proceeded  to  dissolve  the  Synod  of  Delaware 
"  at  and  after  the  meeting  of  the  Synod  of  Philadel- 
phia" in  October  ensuing,  uniting  the  Presbyteries  con- 
nected with  it  with  the  Sj'nod  of  Philadelphia.     The 


*  This  was  disputed  by  some  members  of  New  York  Presbytery 
in  1837. 


STATE    AND    PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHURCH,  1830-1837.    473 

Synod  thus  constituted  was  to  take  such  order  for  the 
orgunization  of  its  Presbyteries  us  might  be  deemed 
'•expedient  and  constitutional." 

By  this  act  the  members  of  the  Third  (Assembly's 
Second)  Presbj'ter}-  of  Philadelphia  were  brought  into 
connection  with  the  Synod  of  Philadelphia,  and  thus 
became  subject  to  its  jurisdiction.  Meanwhile,  Mr. 
Barnes  had  been  arraigned  before  his  Presbytery  on 
the  charges  of  Dr.  Junkin,  and  had  been  acquitted, — 
Dr.  Junkin  appealing  to  Synod  from  the  decision  of 
Presbytery. 

The  circumstances,  briefly,  were  these.  Soon  after 
his  arrival  in  Philadelphia,  Mr.  Barnes  commenced  the 
work  of  giving  to  the  public,  in  a  series  of  volumes,  a 
popular  commentar}'  on  the  New  Testament.  In  1832 
the  Notes  on  the  Gospel  of  Matthew  was  issued,  and  in 
1835  the  author  had  completed  his  volume  on  the  Epistle 
to  the  Eomans.  Some  of  the  views  which  it  presented 
were  regarded  as  especially  objectionable  by  the  party 
W'hich  had  taken  alarm  on  the  subject  of  theological 
innovation.  Dr.  Junkin,  President  of  La  Fayette  Col- 
lege, a  member  of  another  Presbytery  and  another 
Synod,  became  Mr.  Barnes's  accuser,  and  tabled  charges 
against  him  as  maintaining  doctrines  contrary  to  the 
standards  of  the  Church.  Carefully  avoiding  the  term 
of  heresy,  as  ambiguous  and  calculated  to  prejudice  the 
prosecutor  in  public  opinion,  he  drew  up  his  accusation 
under  ten  specifications.  Mr.  Barnes  was  charged  with 
holding — 1.  That  sin  consists  in  voluntary  action. 
2  That  Adam  (before  and  after  his  fall)  was  ignorant 
that  the  consequences  of  his  sin  should  reach  further 
than  to  natural  death.  3.  That  unregenerate  men  are 
able  to  keep  the  commandments  and  convert  them- 
selves to  God.  4.  That  faith  is  an  act  of  the  mind,  and 
not  a  prniciplc,  and  is  itself  imputed  for  righteousness. 
5.  Also,  with  denying  the  covenant  with  Adam;  6.  the 

40* 


474  UlSTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

imputation  of  Adam's  sin  to  his  posterity;  7.  that 
mankind  are  guilty,  i.e.  liable  to  punishment,  on  account 
of  the  sin  of  Adam;  8.  that  Christ  suffered  the  proper 
penalty  of  the  laAv  as  the  vicarious  substitute  of  his 
people,  and  thus  took  away  legall}^  their  sins  and  pur- 
chased jDardon ;  9.  the  imputation  of  Christ's  active 
righteousness;  10.  that  justification  was  other  than 
simply  pardon. 

The  decision  of  the  Presbytery,  after  a  patient  hearing 
of  the  case,  justified  Mr.  Barnes.  He  had  not  asserted 
that  all  sin  consisted  in  voluntary  action.  He  had  not 
asserted  that  Adam  was  unacquainted  with  his  moral 
relations,  but  only  that  there  was  no  reason  to  suppose 
him  so  possessed  of  scientific  knowledge  as  asserted  by 
the  Eabbins.  He  had  not  in  his  Notes  taught  one  way 
or  the  other  on  the  subject  of  man's  ability  or  inability, 
nor  was  there  any  evidence  whatever  of  his  affirming 
that  the  unregenerate  man  could  convert  himself  to 
God.  He  had  affirmed,  in  accordance  with  Scripture, 
that  saving  faith  is  an  influential  act  of  the  mind,  but 
had  not  taught  that  faith  is  a  justifying  righteousness. 
Certain  legal  technicalities,  as  covenant  of  works,  fede- 
ral headship,  representation,  &c.,  he  had  preferred,  for 
reasons  assigned,  not  to  use;  yet  the  real  truths  con- 
tained in  the  Confession  upon  these  points  he  had  not 
denied.  He  had  not  taught  that  we  have  no  more  to 
do  with  the  sins  of  Adam  than  with  the  sins  of  sluj 
other  parents.  He  had  not  denied  the  penal  conse- 
quences of  the  sin  of  Adam  as  an  expression  of  the 
evil  nature  and  tendency  of  apostasy,  but  objected  to 
the  nse  of  the  words  guilt  and  punishment  according 
to  certain  theological  definitions  which,  by  not  imply- 
ing personal  criminality,  were  made  to  conflict  with 
their  use  in  common  language.  Instead  of  denying 
that  Christ  is  the  -'vicarious  substitute"  of  his  people, 
or  that  he  has   ••  purchased   pardon,"  Mr.  Barnes  had 


STATE    AND    PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHURCH,    18.0-18.17.    475 

explicitly  affirmed  and  taught  these  things.  So  far, 
moreover,  from  teaching  that  justification  is  simply 
pardon,  he  had  taught  the  very  reverse. 

The  evidence  submitted  by  the  prosecution  to  prove 
the  charges  was  pronounced  by  the  Presbytery  to  bo 
that  of  "  inferences  drawn  from  Mr.  Barnes's  language" 
which  were  not  legitimate,  and,  even  if  they  were,  could 
not,  according  to  the  decision  of  the  Assembly  of  1824, 
be  used  to  convict  of  heresy  or  dangerous  error,  affecting 
the  foundation  of  a  sinner's  hope  or  the  Christian's  title 
to  eternal  life. 

The  Presbytery  judged,  therefore,  that  the  charges 
had  not  been  sustained.  Mr.  Barnes  was  acquitted  of 
having  taught  in  his  Notes  on  Romans  "  an}-  dangerous 
errors  or  heresies  contrary  to  the  word  of  God  and  oiir 
standards."  Yet  the  Christian  spirit  manifested  by  the 
prosecutor  was  allowed  to  shield  him  from  the  censure 
to  which,  on  failing  to  support  his  charges,  he  was 
liable. 

Dissatisfied  with  the  decision,  Dr.  Junkin  appealed 
to  the  Synod.  But  the  records  of  the  Presbyterj^  pre- 
vious to  the  present  meeting  of  the  Synod  were  not 
subject  to  its  control.'  The  Presbytery  refused  to  give 
them  up.  Previous  to  this  refusal.  Dr.  Junkin  and  Mr. 
Barnes,  being  called  on,  answered  that  they  were  ready 
personally  to  proceed  with  the  case.  But,  upon  the 
refusal  of  the  Presbytery  to  give  up  its  records,  Mr. 
Barnes  put  in  a  paper  pleading  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
Synod,  and,  declining  the  trial,  withdrew.  The  Synod, 
however,  would  not  allow  this  to  be  a  bar  to  their  pro- 
ceeding. They  decided  that  the  Presbyter}'  had  acted 
disorderly  in  its  refusal,  and  censured  them  therefor. 
The  appellant.  Dr.  Junkin,  was  fully  heard.     Mr.  Barnes 


1  They  were  subject  only  to  the  revision  of  the  Synod  of  Delaw.are, 
which  by  act  of  Assembly  had  been  dissolved. 


476  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

was  called,  but,  in  accordance  with  the  paper  which  he 
had  submitted,  could  not,  and  did-  not,  appear.  The 
Presbyterj  was  called  on  to  explain  their  decision,  but 
put  in  a  formal  refusal.  The  roll  was  then  called,  and 
the  minute  expressing  the  decision  of  the  Synod  was 
prepared. 

This  minute  contained  the  argument  of  the  Synod  in 
defence  of  the  regularity  of  its  proceeding  to  issue  the 
case,  with  resolutions  sustaining  the  appeal,  declaring 
Mr.  Barnes  convicted  of  holding  fundamental  errors, 
and  suspending  him  from  the  ministr}-.  Upon  the 
question  of  its  adoption  a  warm  and  at  times  tumult- 
uous debate  sprang  vip.  The  majority  were  not  unani- 
mous. Some  preferred  a  reference  of  the  whole  subject 
to  the  Assembly,  sustaining  the  appeal,  but  not  pro- 
nouncinff  sentence.  Some  were  in  favor  of  sending  it 
back  to  the  Presbj'tcry  to  review  and  correct  their 
action,  or,  to  make  sure  of  the  desired  result,  to  put  Mr. 
Barnes  in  connection  with  a  Presbj^tery  so  constituted 
that  it-  could  "  manage"  him.  Dr.  Green  would  not 
listen  to  the  first  proposition.  He  said,  "  I  freel}"  con- 
fess that  I  dread  a  question  of  reference,  as  a  burnt 
child  dreads  the  fire."  Eobert  J.  Breckenridge  took 
the  o})posite  ground.  He  was  not  in  favor  of  an}-  action 
which  might  seem  harsh  and  thi-ow  popular  sympathy 
on  the  side  of  Mr.  Barnes.  He  spoke  freely  of  the 
''orthodox  gentlemen"  of  Princeton  and  Philadelphia 
not  acting  together.  He  wished  to  ally  them — as  in 
the  last  Assembly — and  so  crush  out  heresy.  Dr.  Green 
— as  well  as  Mr.  McCalla — was  more  decided.  He  had 
said  to  "the  Princeton  gentlemen,"  "We  will  do  you 
good  against  your  will."  And  he  had  kept  his  w^ord. 
'•  I  did  oppose  them,"  he  said,  "  and  I  shall  oppose  them 
again."  By  a  very  large  majority  the  amendment  of 
Mr.  Breckenridge  in  favor  of  reference  was  voted  down. 
By  a  still  larger  majority — one  hundred  and  sixteen  to 


STATE    AND    PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHURCH,  1830-1837.    477 

thirtj^-one — Mr  Barnes  Avas  "suspended  from  the  exer- 
cise of  all  the  functions  proj^er  to  the  gospel  ministry." 
until  he  should  retract  the  errors  condemned  by  Synod 
and  "give  satisfactory  evidence  of  repentance." 

Among  those  who  voted  with  the  majority  were  some 
who  doubted  the  right  of  the  Synod  to  take  such  action 
as  this,  and  more  who  questioned  its  expediency.  But 
distrust  of  the  complexion  which  the  next  Assembly 
might  assume,  impelled  to  decisive  action.  Mr.  Barnes 
gave  notice  of  his  appeal  from  the  decision  and  his 
purpose  to  complain  of  the  same  to  the  next  Assembly, 
meanAvhile  desisting  from  the  exercise  of  his  functions 
as  a  gospel  minister. 

The  Synod  then  proceeded  to  reconstruct  the  Pres- 
byteries. The  censured  Presbytery  proposed  for  its 
boundaries  geographical  lines,  and  Dr.  Duffield  in  its 
behalf  declared,  "We  have  no  elective  affinity  principle 
for  w^hich  we  wish  to  contend."  E.  J.  Breckenridge 
proposed  its  dissolution,  and  that  its  members  wMthin 
six  months  seek  admission  to  the  Presbyteries  within 
whose  bounds  they  were  situated,  or,  in  case  they  failed 
to  do  so,  be  declared  ipso  facto  cut  off  from  the  com- 
munion of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  Dr.  Cuyler  de- 
clared that  "  the  only  true  course  was  to  extirpate"  the 
offending  Presbytery  "  root  and  branch."  Mr.  McCalla 
thought  it  better  to  keep  them  "  together  in  one  mass." 
To  distribute  them  would  be  "like  spreading  poison." 
He  was  for  letting  them  alone,  leaving  them  to  lay 
"  their  eggs  in  every  nest."  This,  he  believed,  was  the 
only  way  by  which  men  would  ever  be  got  "  to  vote  to 
put  them  out  altogether."  He  would  exclude  the  Pres- 
bytery from  the  watch  and  care  of  the  Synod,  and 
proposed  resolutions  to  this  effect.  This,  he  thought, 
"  would  free  us  fi*om  wolves  in  sheep  s  clothing." 

The  plan  of  E.  J.  Breckenridge  was  postponed  to 
take  up  Mr.  McCalla's.     Mr.  Breckenridge  opposed  the 


478  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

proposed  substitute.  He  distinctly  declared  that  the 
members  of  the  obnoxious  Presbytery  stood  recti  in 
ecclesid,  and  that  the  S^^nod  had  "  no  right  to  put  it  out 
of  the  Church  without  trying  its  members  for  irregularity 
of  conduct."  These  members  were  not  before  Synod 
either  on  corporate  or  personal  trial.  Mr.  McCalla's 
resolution  was  declared  out  of  order,  and  the  plan  of 
Mr.  Breekeuridge  was  adopted. 

The  Presbytery  which  it  was  proposed  thus  summarily 
to  dissolve,  presented  their  appeal  and  complaint.  The 
attempt  of  the  vSynod  was  a  continued  resistance 
to  the  authority  of  the  Assemblies  of  former  yeara. 
The  dissolution  "  at  the  present  time  and  by  the 
Sj-nod  of  Philadelphia"  would  be  highly  prejudicial 
to  the  best  interests  of  religion.  The  manner  of  the 
dissolution  was  wholly  un])recedented  and  unconsti- 
tutional. On  these  grounds  they  appealed  to  the  next 
Assembly. 

This  Assembly  (1836)  met  at  Pittsburg,  and  numbered 
over  two  hundred  and  fifty  members.  A  week  was  spent 
in  hearing  the  case.  The  entire  ground  w^as  carefully 
gone  over,  and  resulted,  by  a  vote  of  one  hundred  and 
thirtj^-four  to  ninety-six,  in  favor  of  sustaining  the  ap- 
peal of  Mr.  Barnes.  By  a  still  more  decisive  vote  of 
one  hundred  and  forty-five  to  seventy-eight,  the  decision 
of  the  Synod  suspending  him  from  all  the  functions  of 
the  gospel  ministry  was  reversed.  A  resolution  was 
immediately  introduced  by  Dr.  Miller,  declaring  it  as 
the  judgment  of  the  Assembly  that  Mr.  Barnes  had 
published,  in  his  Notes  on  Eomans,  opinions  materially 
at  variance  with  the  Confession  of  Faith,  and  admonish- 
ing him  to  "  again  review  the  work  and  modify  still 
further  the  statements  which  had  grieved  his  brethren." 
On  the  vote  upon  this  resolution,  the  Synod  of  Philadel- 
phia, as  a  party,  were  excluded,  and  the  resolution  was 


STATE    AND    PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHURCH,  1830-18:!r.    479 

rejected^  by  a  vote  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-two  to 
one  hundred  and  nine.  It  was  met  by  a  very  decided 
protest  on  the  jiart  of  the  minority,  which  was  signed 
by  one  hundred  and  one  members.  Sixteen  members 
who  held  that  Mr.  Barnes's  appeal  should  have  been 
onl}-  in  part  sustained,  and  who  admitted  that  the  course 
of  the  Sjniod  ''  was  questionable  and  perhaps  injudi- 
cious," and  that  it  might  be  doubted  whether  the  sen- 
tence of  suspension  should  have  been  inflicted,  entered 
their  protest,  in  which  they  expressed  their  dissatis- 
faction that  "a  justly  modified  decision"  was  prevented 
by  the  differences  betAveen  the  opposite  parties  of  which 
the  Assembly  was  composed.  * 

In  their  reply  to  these  protests,  the  Assembly  took 
occasion  to  review  the  charges,  and  to  state  the  actual 
views  of  Mr.  Barnes  as  brought  out  upon  the  trial. 
Many  felt  with  him  that  the  question  which  the  Pres- 
b3^tery,  Synod,  and  Assembly  had  been  successively 
called  to  decide,  was  whether  the  view\s  w^hich  had  been 
presented  in  the  Xotes  on  Homans  were  any  longer  to 
be  tolerated  within  the  bounds  of  the  Church;  "  whether 
a  man  who  held  them  at  the  time  of  his  licensure  and 
ordination,  who  had  held  and  preached  them  for  ten 
yeai's,  and  who  held  them  in  common  with  no  small 
part  of  two  thousand  ministers  in  the  same  connection, 
was  to  be  allowed  peaceably  to  hold  them  still,  and  to 
labor  under  the  influence  of  these  views  in  endeavoring 
to  save  souls;  or  whether  he  was  to  be  pronounced  hei-e- 
tical  and  unsound,  his  character  to  be  ruined,  so  far  as 
a  decision  of  his  brethren  could  ruin  it,  himself  to  be 
harassed  in  his  feelings,  embarrassed  in  his  preaching, 
and  the  large  number  of  ministers,  elders,  and  com- 

1  Altliough  the  motion  was  rejected,  the  spirit  of  Mr.  Barnes  was 
manifested  in  his  voluntary  revisal  and  correction  of  his  Commentary 
on  the  Romans. 


480  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

municants  in  the  churches,  who  held  the  same  views, 
declared,  luiworthy  an  office,  a  name,  and  a  place  in  the 
Church  of  God." 

Upon  this  question  the  Assembly  had  now  virtually 
pronounced.  It  was  not  ready  to  disown  and  reject 
men  of  the  stamp  of  Dr.  Beecher  and  Albert  Barnes, 
Through  a  protracted  period  of  six  years  the  latter 
had  borne  himself  in  a  meek  and  becoming  manner, 
never  using  the  tone  of  defiance,  and  never  forgetful 
either  of  self-respect  or  of  Christian  principle.  The 
processes  against  him  had  increased  the  number  and 
strengthened  the  confidence  of  his  friends,  while  they 
had  contributed  in  no  small  degree  to  a  more  extended 
circulation  of  his  works.  In  accordance  with  the  de- 
cision of  the  Assembly, — who  also  sustained  the  appeal 
of  the  Presbytery  from  the  decisions  of  the  Synod, — he 
resumed  his  pastoral  duties,  to  the  discharge  of  which 
he  was  welcomed  back  by  an  affectionate  people. 

The  prosecution  and  trial  of  Dr.  Beecher  and  Mr. 
Barnes  were  but  the  more  striking  and  public  deve- 
lopment of  that  antagonism  of  feeling  which  pervaded 
certain  portions  of  the  Church  in  regard  to  the  theo- 
logical questions  which  were  agitated.  The  prominent 
position  of  these  men  concentrated  public  attention 
upon  the  issue  of  their  case.  Had  they  not  been  found 
obnoxious,  there  was  no  lack  of  those  who  might  have 
been  thus  designated.  Dr.  Duffield's  work  on  Regene- 
ration was  considered  in  many  quarters  as  objectionable 
as  Beecher's  theology  or  Barnes's  Notes.  According  to 
Mr.  McCalla,  and  to  use  his  own  expression,  Mr.  (Dr. 
Thomas  H.)  Skinner  was  "  the  first  man  of  this  kidney." 
Although  the  only  one  in  the  Presbytery,  "  we  could 
not  manage  him,  but  he  soon  found  the  way  to  manage 
us." 

The  great  evil — according  to  those  who  were  loudest 
in   their   complaints — came  from  Now  England.     The 


STATE    AND    PROGRESS    OP    THE    CHURCH,  1830-1837.    481 

laxness  of  Congregational  usage  and  Taylorism  were 
denoimced  almost  in  the  same  breath.  As  early  as 
182G  the  Synod  of  Pittsburg  had  expressed  its  appre- 
hensions. Notwithstanding  the  adoption  and  promul- 
gation of  rules  designed  to  preserve  the  purity  and 
order  of  the  Church,  and  notwithstandhig  all  the  care 
taken  and  means  employed  for  their  correct  application, 
3^et,  according  to  the  Synod,  these  rules  were  evaded. 
Ordained  ministers  of  other  denominations  were  received 
by  some  of  the  Presbyteries  without  being  required  to 
assume  the  obligations  of  those  ordained  within  the 
Church,  and  there  was  reason  to  apprehend  that  this 
practice  was  becoming  more  common.  In  1829  an 
abortive  attempt  was  made  to  secure  uniformity  of 
doctrinal  instruction  in  the  different  seminaries;  and  in 
1830  a  rule  was  made  by  the  Assembly — intended  to 
meet  the  complaint  of  the  Pittsburg  Synod — by  which 
licentiates  and  ordained  ministers  were  required  to  give 
their  assent  to  the  questions  proposed  to  the  licentiates 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  when  about  to  be  ordained. 
Here  the  matter  rested  for  a  year  or  two.  But  the 
apprehension  of  danger  was  not  removed.^  Eej^orts 
were  rife — they  were  openly  made  in  the  public  prints 
— that  the  "Western  Eeserve  Synod  was  especially  de- 
linquent. In  the  Assembly  of  1832  a  motion  was  made 
that  the  Synod  be  cited  before  the  next  Assembly;  but, 
after  considerable  discussion,  it  was  resolved  to  direct 
it  to  review  and  examine  the  state  of  its  Presbyteries 
and  churches  and  report  to  the  next  Assembly.  In 
regard  to  the  general  subject  of  subscription,  brought 


1  "  We  speak  what  we  firmly  believe  when  we  say  that  unless  ia 
the  passing  year  there  is  a  general  waking  up  of  the  Old  School 
Presbyterians  to  a  sense  of  their  danger  and  their  duty,  their  in- 
fluence in  the  General  Assembly  will  forever  afterwards  be  subor- 
dinate and  under  control." — Christian  Advocate,  1831,  p.  366. 

Vol.  II.— 41 


482  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

by  overture  before  the  Assembly,  its  action  was  unani- 
mous. It  decided  tliat  the  Catechisms,  as  well  as  tlie 
Confession,  are  included  in  the  standards  of  the  Church, 
yet  that  the  rules  made  by  the  Assembly  of  1880  in 
regard  to  ministers  coming  from  other  bodies  were 
sufficiently  explicit.  Further  legislation  on  the  subject 
was  therefore  pronounced  unnecessary. 

In  the  following  year  the  Synod  of  the  Western  Ee- 
sei've  made  their  report  to  the  Assembly.  Thej^  had 
complied  with  the  order  to  review  and  examine  the 
state  of  the  Presbyteries  and  churches  under  their 
care,  and  declared  that  they  found  no  ground  for  the 
charge  of  delinquency  in  relation  to  the  permission 
alleged  in  the  first  specification  against  them.  Pre- 
vious to  the  passage  of  the  resolutions  of  the  Assembly 
of  1830,  there  had  been  a  diff'erence  of  practice  in  the 
Presbyteries,  some  of  them  receiving  members  without 
a  formal  profession  of  adopting  the  Confession  of  Faith 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  But  since  that  period  no 
such  practice  had  obtained.  As  to  the  licensing  and 
ordaining  of  persons  by  the  Presbyteries,  they  had  no 
knowledge  that  this  had  ever  been  done  without  re- 
quiring an  adoption  of  the  Confession  of  Faith.  As  to 
ruling  elders,  they  held  that  the  constitution  did  not 
make  the  eldership  essential  to  tlie  existence  of  the 
church,  and  in  some  cases  the  number  of  members  in 
communion  was  too  small  to  admit  the  election  of  suit- 
able persons  for  the  ()ffice,  while  the  fact  of  the  inter- 
mingling of  Congregatioualists  and  Presbyterians  in 
many  churches  was  a  sufiieient  reason  for  the  non-ex- 
istence of  the  eldership,  according  to  the  conditions  of 
the  Plan  of  Union.  The  report  was  accepted  and  or- 
dered to  be  placed  on  the  minutes  of  the  Assembly; 
but  no  further  action  was  taken,  except  to  disclaim  the 
riews  of  the  Synod  in  regard  to  the  eldership. 

But  the   subject  was   not  yet  put  to  rest.     It  was 


STATE    AND    PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHURCH,  1830-1837.   483 

brought  forward,  along  with  others,  in  1834,  in  "  The 
Western  Memorial,"  addressed  to  the  Assembly,  and 
signed  b3^  eighteen  ministers  and  ninety -nine  elders.^ 
It  presented  a  most  startling  picture  of  the  doctrinal 
error  and  defection  which  prevailed  throughout  the 
Church.  It  was  not  limited  to  comj^laints  against 
the  negligence  of  Presbyteries  in  requiring  assent  to 
the  standards  of  the  Church,  but  boldly  reviewed  the 
p)ublished  writings  of  some  of  the  most  prominent 
ministers  connected  with  the  Assembly.  It  charged 
U2)0n  the  policy  that  had  characterijzed  the  proceedings 
of  previous  General  Assemblies '' an  evasive  character," 
an  apparent  intent  "to  avoid  a  prompt  discharge  of 
their  constitutional  duties,"  thus  indicating  "a  widely- 
spread  principle  of  evil  operating  in  the  Presbj^terian 
Church,  to  the  general  change  of  its  form  of  govern- 
ment and  the  character  of  its  creed." 

The  memorial  denounced  the  impolicy  and  unconsti- 
tutionality of  the  Plan  of  Union,  pointing  out  its  mis- 
chievous workings.  It  asserted  "  the  existence  of  a 
sentiment  now  avowed  by  numbers  who  bear  the  Pres- 
byterian name,"  that  in  the  adoption  of  the  standards 
every  man  might  put  upon  them  his  own  construction. 
It  complained  of  the  frequent  ordination  of  licentiates 
from  Congregational  bodies  sinetitulo,  thus  "suddenly, 
nominally,  and  geographically  converting  them  into 
Presbyterian  ministers  before  they  could  know  what 
Presbytei'ianism  was."  In  this  connection  it  specified 
the  ordination  of  eight  j'oung  men  by  the  JSTew^bury- 
jDort  Presbyter}',  and  ten  by  the  Third  Presbytery  of 
New  York,  for  the  service  of  the  American  Home  Mis- 
sionary Society,  although  for  the  most  part  destined  to 
fields  where  Presbyteries  were  already  in  existence. 

1  This  memorial  was  probably  drawn  up  through  the  influence  of 
Dr.  Wilson,  of  Cincinnati.  It  is  spoken  of  as  the  "Cincinnati 
Memorial."     Baird's  Digest,  877. 


484  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

Another  grievance,  ascribed  "to  the  principles  of  In- 
dependency," was  "the  departure  of  the  General  As- 
sembly from  the  due  discharge  of  its  own  constitutional 
duties  in  conniving  at  an  irresponsible  voluntary  asso- 
ciation,"* which  assumed  to  a  great  extent  the  man- 
agement of  domestic  missions  within  the  Presbyterian 
Church.  The  "  patronage"  of  the  Home  Missionary 
Society — actually  encouraged  by  a  recommendation  of 
the  Assembly  of  1829 — was  declared  to  be  detrimental 
to  the  interests  and  subversive  of  the  system  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church.  The  missionaries  and  agents  of  this 
society  had  almost  uniformly  voted,  in  the  supreme 
judicature  of  the  Church,  on  the  side  of  innovation. 

To  these  evils  were  to  be  traced  the  lamentable  de- 
clensions of  the  Assembly  of  1831,  on  the  first  trial  of 
Mr.  Barnes.  Hei-e  "  a  decision  of  the  question  on  its 
doctrinal  merits  was  evaded,"  and  "  the  claims  of  truth 
were  smothered  in  their  well-known  compromise." 
Thus  in  the  Assembly  and  in  other  church  courts  a 
course  of  procedure  Avas  pursued  which  rendered  the 
principles  of  the  constitution  nugatory  and  reduced 
the  government  of  the  Church  to  spiritual  anarchy. 
Against  these  perversions  the  memorialists  testified. 

The  memorialists  then  proceeded  to  point  out  the 
specific  errors  which  they  declared  to  be  held  and 
taught  within  the  Presbj^terian  Church.  These  were 
substantially  the  same  as  had  been  charged  against  Mr. 

'  A  large  proportion  of  the  leading  ministers  of  the  Church  had, 
previous  to  this  period,  manifested  a  friendly  spirit  to  various  volun- 
tary societies,  though  operating  within  the  bounds  of  the  Ciiurch. 
It  is  not  strange  that  Dr.  Green,  as  charged  by  Dr.  Peters,  should 
have  exerted  himself  to  secure  the  establishment  of  a  Pennsylvania 
Home  Missionary  Society  which  might  take  charge  of  a  field  with 
which  the  managers  of  the  A.  H.  M.  S.  were  comparatively  stran- 
gers. He  might  do  this,  even  while  using  more  strictly  ecclesiastical 
methods,  if  he  found  the  latter  impracticable  in  the  case. 


STATE    AND    PROGRESS    OF    THE   CHURCH,  1830-1S37.   485 

Barnes.  They  were  selected  from  the  writings  of 
Barnes,  Dufficld,  Beecher,  and  Bcman.  After  review- 
ing the  history  of  the  Church  to  show  the  light  in 
which  subscriptions  to  the  standards  had  been  re- 
garded, they  earnestly  requested  of  the  Assembly  the 
abrogation  of  the  Plan  of  Union,  measures  to  pre- 
vent Presbyteries  from  receiving  and  dismissing  min- 
isters to  be  sent  into  the  bounds  of  other  Presbyteries 
to  their  annoyance,  the  resumption  by  the  Assembly 
of  the  full  exercise  of  its  own  functions  in  conducting 
missionary  operations,  and  a  testimony  on  its  part 
against  the  errors  taught  and  circulated  within  the 
bounds  of  the  Church. 

They  closed  by  presenting  for  the  opinion  of  the  As- 
sembly some  of  the  points  which  had  been  previously 
brought  up  by  the  vSynod  of  Philadelphia  for  its  deci- 
sion. They  wished  to  know  whether  a  member  in  one 
Presbytery  in  good  standing  might  claim,  on  dismission 
and  recommendation,  to  be  received  without  examina- 
tion into  another;  whether  any  Presbytery  might  take 
up,  examine,  and  pronounce  upon  -a  publication  which 
they  found  to  be  erroneous  and  dangerous,  or  whether 
they  must  first  prosecute  its  author;  and  whether,  in 
the  adoption  of  tiic  standards,  a  candidate  or  minister 
from  a  foreign  body  might  give  to  them  his  own  con- 
struction. If  no  remedy  was  afforded  for  the  evils 
complained  of,  the  memorialists  professed  to  tremble 
for  the  consequences.  Such  was  the  document  pre- 
sented to  the  Assembly. 

But  the  Assembl}'  refused  to  sanction  the  strictures 
of  the  memorial  upon  preceding  Assemblies.  They 
declared  it  inexpedient  and  undesirable  to  abrogate 
the  Plan  of  Union.  They  declared  that  on  the  subject 
of  ordination  the  rules  already  made  were  deemed  suf- 
ficient ;  that  the  work  of  licensing  and  ordaining  men 
belonged  to  the  Presbyteries ;  that  publishing  to  the 

4i« 


486  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

world,  as  heretical  and  dangerous,  ministers  in  good 
standing  who  had  not  been  constitutionally  tried  and 
condemned,  was  to  be  discountenanced;  that  the  As- 
sembly had  no  authority  to  establish  any  exclusive 
jnode  of  conducting  anissions;  that  ministers  in  good 
standing  in  one  Presbytery  when  dismissed  to  another 
should  be  received  on  the  credit  of  their  constitutional 
testimonials;  that  to  take  up,  try,  and  condemn  printed 
publications  as  heretical  and  dangerous  was  equivalent 
to  condemning  the  author  as  heretical;  that  those  who 
adopted  the  standards  of  the  Church  should  be  pre- 
sumed, without  opposing  evidence,  to  adopt  theni  ac- 
cording to  their  obvious,  known,  and  established  mean- 
ing; and  that  Presbyteries  and  Synods  should  strive  in 
charity  and  forbearance  to  settle,  as  far  as  practicable 
all  their  matters  of  grievance  and  disquietude,  without 
bringing  them  before  the  General  Assembly  and  the 
world. 

Such  was  the  result  reached  after  a  lont;  and  thorouffh 
discussion  of  the  several  points  contained  in  the  memo- 
rial. It  coidd  not,  in  the  circumstances,  have  been  ex- 
pected that  it  should  be  received  with  equanimity  by 
those  whose  action  it  condemned.  Dr.  Green,  especially, 
must  have  felt  that  certain  portions  of  it  bore  severely 
upon  the  course  pursued  by  the  Presbytery  of  Phila- 
delphia; and  he  was  the  first  to  sign  a  protest  against  it 
which  received,  beside  his  own,  thirty-five  signatures. 

The  dissatisfied  minority  now  offered  a  resolution, 
which  proposed  to  condemn  in  the  abstract  the  errors 
charged  upon  Mr.  Barnes's  sermon.  This  was  inde- 
finitely postponed  for  another,  which  declared  the  un- 
abated attachment  of  the  Assembly  to  the  system  of 
doctrines  contained  in  the  standards,  and  enjoined  the 
study  of  them  upon  all  the  members  of  the  Church, 
and  their  firm  support  by  all  scriptural  and  constitu- 
tional methods. 


STATE    AND   PROGRESS   OF   THE    CHURCH,  1830-1837.    487 

The  yeas  and  nays  were  called  upon  the  question  of 
postponement ;  but  the  call  was  withdrawn  with  a  view 
to  substituting  a  protest  in  its  place.  This  protest  was 
signed  by  thirty  members.  It  spoke  strongly  of  the 
action  of  the  Assembl}'  in  its  vote  of  postponement, 
as  "  a  refusal  to  discharge  a  solemn  duty  enjoined  by 
the  Confession  of  Faith  and  loudly  and  imperiously 
called  for  by  the  circumstances  of  the  Church."  A 
more  temperate  protest  might  have  been  received;  but 
this  was  refused  a  record,  by  a  vote  of  fifty-six  to  forty- 
two. 

In  these  circumstances,  the  minority  resorted  to  an 
extraordinary  measure.  They  met,  and  drew  up  a 
paper,  which  they  styled  "The  Act  and  Testimony." 
In  this  they  re-echoed  in  still  more  startling  tones  the 
statements  of  the  memorial.  They  declared  their  dis- 
satisfaction that  for  several  years  the  highest  judica- 
tory of  the  Church  had  failed  to  redress  their  grievances, 
and  had  only  aggravated  the  evils  of  which  they  com- 
plained. They  spoke  of  the  "unchristian  subterfuge  to 
which  some  have  recourse"  in  avowing  adherence  to 
the  standards  but  holding  doctrines  at  complete  vari- 
ance with  the  S3"stem.'  After  reciting  the  errors  charged 
upon  the  party  which  they  opposed,  they  dwelt  upon 
the  agitation  and  division  of  the  churches  and  eccle- 
siastical bodies  consequent  upon  the  propagation  of 
"these  and  similar  errors;"  they  declared  that  "our 
people  are  no  longer  one  body  of  Christians;"  that 
"  Presbyteries  Avere  convulsed  by  collisions;"  that  the 
Synods  and  Assembly  Avere  "  made  theatres  for  the 
open  display  of  humiliating  scenes  of  human  passion 
and  weakness."  They  asserted  that  their  hope  thai 
the   dignified   and    impartial    course  of  justice   would 

1  There  was  doubtless  some  ground  for  tbis  complaint.  Evidence 
of  the  fact  that  might  satisfy  many  would  not  suffice  to  establish  i* 
in  an  ecclesiastical  court. 


468  HISTORY    OP   PRESBYTERIANISM. 

flow  steadily,  had  expired.  They  complained  that  the 
"  memorial"  had  been  "  sternly  frowned  upon"  by  the 
Assembly,  while  they  who  had  "  corrupted  our  doc- 
trines" sought  "  to  give  permanent  security  to  error 
and  to  themselves  by  raising  an  outcry  in  the  churches 
against  all  who  love  the  truth  well  enough  to  contend 
for  it." 

In  regard  to  church  order,  the  gravest  apprehensions 
were  expressed.  They  declared  their  increasing  alarm 
at  "a  fixed  design  to  organize  new  tribunals  upon  prin- 
ciples repugnant  to  our  system  and  directly  subversive 
of  it,  for  the  obvious  purpose  of  establishing  and  pro- 
pagating the  heresies  already  recounted." 

In  conclusion,  they  recommended  to  all  who  loved 
the  Church  and  desired  to  restore  it  from  its  abuse  and 
corruption  to  give  no  countenance  to  teachers  or  jireach- 
ers  who  held  "the  preceding  or  similar  heresies''  to 
strive  rather  to  subject  them  to  discipline,  to  labor  to 
restore  the  tribunals  of  the  Church  to  their  original 
purity,  and  that  all  ministers,  elders,  church-sessions, 
Presbyteries,  and  Synods,  who  approved  it,  give  theij 
public  adherence  to  this  Act  and  Testimony. 

A  convention,  composed  of  members  from  each  Pres- 
bytery or  minority  of  Presbj'tery  favorable  to  the 
measure,  was  invited  to  meet  in  Pittsburg  previous  to 
the  meeting  of  the  Assembly,  in  May,  1835,  to  de- 
liberate and  adopt  such  measures  as  should  be  "best 
suited  to  restore  the  prostrated  standards." 

The  document  was  signed  by  thirty-seven  ministers 
and  twenty-seven  elders.  Among  the  names  of  the 
former  were  E.  J.  Breckenridge,  Joshua  L.  "Wilson, 
George  Junkin,  Dr.  Green,  and  James  Latta.  It  was 
the  first  step  as  yet  taken  by  either  party  toward  mai*- 
shalling  and  disciplining  its  forces.  It  had  the  distinct 
aspect  of  providing  for  ulterior  and  decisive  measures. 
As  such  it  could  not  fail  to  be  regarded. 


STATE   AND    PROGRESS   OF   THE   CHURCH,   1830-1837.      489 

Strong  oppositioi!i  to  the  "  Act  and  Testimony  "  was  mani- 
fested by  the  conductors  of  the  "  Princeton  Keview."  Their 
view  of  the  document  Avas  that  all  who  did  not  accept 
it — from  whatever  reasons — subjected  themselves  to  the 
suspicions  of  those  who  did.  An  alternative  was  offered 
them  on  the  authority  of  a  body  self-constituted,  which 
nobody,  not  even  the  Assembly  itself,  had  any  right  to 
impose.  The  "  Princeton  Review "  therefore  characterized 
it  as  "an  act  of  gross  injustice  to  multitudes  of  our 
soundest  and  best  men."  The  "  Princeton  gentlemen" 
declared  the  recommendations  of  the  document,  recom- 
mendations "  to  renounce  allegiance  to  the  Chnrch." 
They  were  "  extra-constitutional  and  revolutionary,  and 
to  be  opposed."  They  denied  the  facts  which  the  docu- 
ment assumed.  They  exculpated  the  Assembly  for  not 
passing  the  resolutions  on  heresies  and  errors  which 
the  minorit}'-  urged.  "  Is  it  to  be  expected,"  they  asked, 
"  that  at  this  time  of  the  day  the  Assembly  would  con- 
demn all  who  do  not  hold  the  doctrine  of  a  limited 
atonement?"  They  distinctly  declared  that  "had  the 
ingenuity  of  man  been  taxed  for  a  plan  to  divide  and 
weaken  the  friends  of  truth  and  order  in  our  Church, 
we  question  whether  a  happier  or  more  effectual  expe- 
dient could  have  been  devised."  "  Division  is  the  end 
to  which  this  enterprise  leads,  and  to  which,  we  doubt 
not,  it  aims."  To  request  and  ui-ge  the  signing  of  the 
Act  and  Testimony  was  characterized  as  "  an  unau- 
thorized assumption,"  as  "  fraught  with  injustice,  dis- 
cord, and  division."  It  made  one  a  heretic  for  being 
"  unable  to  adopt  an  extended  document"  containing  a 
multitude  of  statements  and  counsels,  many  of  them 
questionable,  and  some  of  them  unwarranted  and  un- 
wise. ""We  have  not  the  least  idea,"  they  add,  "that 
one-tenth  of  the  ministers  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
would  deliberately  countenance  and  sustain  the  errors 
specified." 


HISTORY   or   PRESBYTERIANISM. 

Such  was  the  view  taken  by  a  large  miuority  in  the 
church.  They  could  not  accept  the  statements  of  the  "Act 
and  Testimony"  as  correct  in  matter  of  fact.  To  them 
the  alarm  excited  appeared  groundless.  Within  the  sphere 
of  their  own  observation  they  discerned  nothing  to  warrant 
the  extraordinary  measures  that  had  been  adopted.  Firm 
in  their  own  views  of  truth,  and  associating  in  their  own 
spheres  with  men  kindred  in  spirit  and  doctrine,  they  knew 
only  by  vague  report  of  the  actual  condition  of  things  in 
other,  and  perhaps  distant,  portions  of  the  church.  The 
"Western  Luminary"  declared  that  not  one  of  the  minis- 
ters or  elders  in  its  own  region,  so  far  as  known,  held  the 
errors  alleged.  The  representations  therefore  of  the  "  Act 
and  Testimony"  were  regarded  with  suspicion  by  many 
who  were  by  no  means  friendly  to  the  operation  of  the 
"  Plan  of  Union,"  or  to  the  disorders  in  discipline  and  errors 
in  doctrine  which  it  was  charged  with  introducing  into  the 
church.  Some  regarded  its  authors  as  inconsistent  in  con- 
demning the  neglect  of  the  tribunals  of  the  church,  while 
they  assumed  for  themselves  something  of  the  authority  of 
a  tribunal. 

The  Act  and  Testimony  convention  met,  according  to 
appointment,  at  Pittsburg,  previous  to  the  meeting  of  the 
Assembly,  in  May,  1835.  Forty-one  Presbyteries  and 
thirteen  minorities  of  Presbyteries  were  represented.  By 
this  body  a  list  of  grievances  was  drawn  up  to  be  pre- 
sented to  the  Assembly,  with  an  earnest  demand  for 
redress.  These  grievances  were  for  the  most  part  already- 
familiar, — the  points  presented  by  the  Philadelphia  Presby- 
tery to  the  Assembly  and  re-echoed  in  the  memorial.  Be- 
sides these,  it  denounced  the  Plan  of  Union,  and  presented 
the  "alarming  features  of  the  condition  of  the  Church." 
As  to  the  Plan  of  Union,  its  language  was  somewhat 
guarded.  While  tracing  to  it  "not  a  small  proportion  of 
the  evils"  that  disturbed  the  peace  of  the  Church,  it  added, 
"  We  say  nothing  here  of  the  wisdom  of  the  measure  at  the 


STATE   AND   PROGRESS   OF   THE   CHURCH,  1830-1837.    491 

time,  nor  of  its  constitutiouality.  We  know  it  was  the  work 
of  wise  and  good  men.  But  we  must  be  allowed  to  express 
the  opinion  that  now  it  leads  to  alienation,  contentious  and 
disorders."  On  these  grounds,  and  for  the  additional  reason 
"that  the  terms  of  compact  are  not  complied  with  by  our 
Congregational  brethren,"  the  Assembly  were  besought  to  an- 
nul the  act  by  which  the  Plan  of  Union  had  been  adopted. 

The  Assembly,  to  the  gratification  of  the  memo- 
rialists, contained  a  majority  who  sympathized  with 
them.  The  grievances  were  taken  up,  and  the  action 
of  the  Assembly  substantially  reversed  the  proceedings 
of  the  Assembly  of  the  previous  year.  Yet  it  did  not 
fully  come  up  to  the  standard  of  the  memorialists.  It 
justified  Presbyteries  who  examined  members  in  good 
standing  coming  to  them  with  certificates.  It  allowed 
any  judicatory  to  pronounce  judgment  upon  any  printed 
publication  which  might  be  regarded  as  inculcating 
injurious  opinions,  even  though  its  author,  untried,  was 
still  a  member  of  the  same  body.  It  condemned  the 
principle  of  elective  affinity  in  the  constituting  of  church 
courts.  It  consequently  dissolved  the  Synod  of  Dela- 
ware. It  pronounced  against  the  desirableness  of  a 
longer  continuance  of  the  Plan  of  Union.  It  substantially 
endorsed  the  complaint  of  the  memorialists  that  the  ex- 
tensive spread  of  doctrinal  errors  was  by  no  means  un- 
founded. But  here  it  stopped.  It  was  not  prepared  to 
break  ofi"  the  correspondence  with  the  New  England 
churches,  and,  while  acknowledging  the  "painful  evils" 
resulting  from  the  divided  sentiment  of  the  Church  in 
regard  to  the  method  of  conducting  domestic  missions,  it 
declared  its  persuasion  that  it  was  inexpedient  to  attempt 
to  prohibit  the  operation  of  the  Home  Missionary,  the 
Education,  or  any  other  voluntary  society,  not  subject  to 
the  Assembly's  control,  within  the  bounds  of  the  Church. 

With  such  endorsement  the  memorialists  had  good 
reason   to   be    satisfied ;   and    the   Synod   of  Philadelphia 


492  HISTORY    OF    rRESBYTERIANISM. 

followed  up  such  action  by  the  prosecution,  trial,  and 
suspension  of  Mr.  Barnes.  But  in  the  following  3'ear 
(1836)  the  party  in  sympathy  with  them  were  in  a 
minority  in  the  Assembly.  The  appeal  of  Mr.  Barnes 
and  the  aggrieved  Presbytery  against  the  Synod  of 
Philadelphia  were  triumphantly  sustained. 

This  gave  new  cause  of  alarm  to  the  defeated  party.  Again 
they  met,  and,  encouraged  by  their  previous  experiment, 
summoned  a  convention  to  meet  in  Philadelphia  a  few  days 
previous  to  the  meeting  of  the  Assembly  of  1837.  They 
had  now  gone  too  far  to  recede,  and  felt  the  necessity  of 
prompt  action  in  order  to  maintain  the  position  they  had 
so  boldly  taken. 

Meanwhile,  however,  a  new  grievance  had  been  added 
to  the  list.  All  along,  theological  and  ecclesiastical 
questions  had  been  intermingled;  but  the  ecclesiastical 
were  now  to  rise  into  greater  prominence.  In  1831 
the  Pittsburg  Synod — anticipating  the  report,  what- 
ever it  might  be,  of  the  commission  which,  in  conse- 
quence of  Dr.  Eice's  overture,  had  been  appointed  to 
confer  with  the  American  Board — had  formed  itself 
into  a  Foreign  Missionary  vSociety,  and  invited  the  co- 
operation of  the  Church  at  large.  This  they  could  do 
without  asking  the  sanction  of  the  Assembly,  and  none 
could  question  their  right  to  do  it.  The  Assembly  did 
not  molest  them,  nor  interfere  in  any  way  with  their 
proceedings.  But  in  1835  the  memorialist  party  was 
in  the  ascendant,  and  it  became  a  natural  inquiry  for 
them,  what  was  the  speediest  and  most  efficient  method 
of  committing  the  Church  at  large,  by  means  of  the 
Assembly,  to  distinctly  ecclesiastical  action  on  the  sub- 
ject of  foreign  missions.  With  the  Western  Missionary 
Society  of  the  Synod  of  Pittsburg — which  already  had 
not  only  invited,  but  to  some  extent  received,  the  co- 
operation and  contributions  of  other  portions  of  the 
Church — already  in  the  field,  it  was   not  difficult  to 


STATE    AND    PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHURCH,  1830-1837.   493 

find  an  answer.  On  the  afternoon  of  the  last  day  of 
the  sessions  of  the  Assembly,  when  less  than  one-third 
of  its  members  were  present,  the  Committee  on  Foreign 
Missions  made  their  report.  Previous  to  this,  however, 
a  committee  had  been  appointed  to  confer  with  the 
Synod  of  Pittsburg  on  a  transfer  of  the  Western  Mis- 
sionary Society  to  the  Assembly,  to  ascertain  the  terms 
of  such  transfer,  and  to  digest  a  plan  of  conducting 
foreign  missions  under  the  direction  of  the  Assembly; 
and  this  committee  were  to  report  the  following  year. 
But  this  measure  was  regarded  as  too  dilatory  and  too 
uncertain  in  its  issue.  It  Avas,  therefore,  resolved  that 
the  committee  of  conference  be  authorized,  in  case  they 
should  approve  the  transfer,  to  ratify  and  confirm  the 
same  and  report  to  the  next  Assembly. 

The  Pittsburg  Synod  had  no  selfish  ambition.  It  was 
comparatively  easy  to  fix  upon  terms  of  agreement, 
where  the  views  of  both  parties  Avere  directed  toward 
the  speedy  accomplishment  of  the  same  result.  The 
plan  of  transfer  was  perfected,  and  the  Assembly's  com- 
mittee and  the  Synod  of  Pittsburg  proceeded  jointly  to 
construct  a  plan  and  constitution  for  a  Board  of  Foreign 
Missions  for  the  General  Assembly.  To  make  this  mea- 
sure final  and  conclusive,  and  to  put  it  out  of  the  power 
of  the  Assembly  to  lay  aside  the  burden  and  duty  thus 
imposed  upon  it,  it  was  expressly  stipulated  that  the 
Assembly  "  will  never  hereafter  alienate  or  transfer  to 
any  other  judicatory  or  board  whatever  the  direct 
supervision  and  management"  of  the  missions  thus 
transferred  to  its  hands. 

Had  the  Assembly  of  1836  been  of  the  same  type 
with  that  of  1835, — as  was  pei'haps  anticipated, — the 
nature  of  this  strange  proceeding — delegating  the  power 
of  not  only  one  but  all  succeeding  Assemblies  to  a  small 
committee,  in  regard  to  a  matter  vital  to  the  interests 
of  the  Church — would,  doubtless,  have  been  overlooked. 

Vol.  II.— 42 


494  HISTORY    OF   PRESBYTERIANISM. 

But  the  Assembly  of  1836  was  not  disposed  to  endorse 
a  measure  which  the  majority  of  its  members  regarded 
as  not  merely  questionable  in  policy,  but  as  stealthily 
thrust  ujjon  the  Church, — a  measure  which,  if  adopted, 
should  first  have  been  submitted  to  the  Presbyteries. 
The  committee  on  the  transfer  reported  what  they  had 
done.  The  Assembly  was  placed  in  a  difficult  position. 
There  was  much  to  be  said  on  both  sides,  and  much 
was  said.  But  tlie  report  of  a  minority  committee  j3ro- 
nouncing  against  the  ratification  of  the  terms  of  agree- 
ment was  approved  ;  and  thus  this  project,  Avhich  could  have 
comniitted  the  Assembly  to  a  Foreign  Board,  as  to  the  policy 
of  which  the  Church  at  large  was  perhaps  nearly  equally 
divided,  was  defeated.^ 

This  was  a  grievance  not  less  sore  and  sad  than  that 
of  imputed  theological   errors.     The   acquittal  of  Mr. 

1  It  may  well  be  doubted  whether  the  mnjority  of  the  Assembly 
of  1886,  in  rejecting  the  proposed  transfer  of  the  Western  Foreign 
Missionary  Society,  and  thereby  cancelling  the  arrangements — really 
obnoxious  as  they  were  in  several  respects — which  had  been  made 
for  transforming  it  into  one  of  the  boards  of  the  Church,  did  justice 
to  the  real  sentiment  of  the  great  mass  of  ministers  and  members 
at  the  West  and  South.  Seven  years  had  wrought  a  great  change  in 
public  sentiment.  Dr.  Peters  speaks  somewhat  caustically  of  the 
sudden  change  in  Dr.  Miller's  views  between  1833,  when  he  was 
opposed  to  a  Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  and  1835,  when  he  was  won 
over  to  its  support.  But  the  success  of  the  Board  of  Domestic  Mis- 
sions must  have  surprised  its  friends,  and  satisfied  many — hitherto 
inclined  to  doubt — that  ecclesiastical  boards  as  well  as  voluntai'y 
societies  could  draw  out  the  charities  and  enlist  the  confidence  of  the 
churches.  Dr.  Miller  was  not  a  man  to  overlook  the  importance  of 
such  a  fact.  Considering  the  method  employed  to  fasten  a  Board 
of  Foi'eign  Missions  on  the  Assembly, — a  method  the  objectionable 
features  of  which  are  fully  exposed  in  the  "Plea  for  Voluntary  So- 
cieties,"— it  would  have  required  great  patience  on  the  part  of  the 
majority  not  to  have  resented  it,  while  there  can,  I  think,  be  little 
doubt  that  the  exasperation  produced  by  the  rejection  of  the  pro- 
posed transfer  contributed  not  a  little  to  the  final  result  of  division. 


STATE   AND   PROGRESS   OF   THE   CHURCH,    1830-1837.   495 

Barnes,  and,  by  implication,  of  Dr.  Beeclier,  the  repu- 
diation of  tlie  positions  taken  in  the  memorial,  and  the 
refusal  of  the  Assembly  to  commit  itself  to  exclusively 
ecclesiastical  action,  all  combined  to  exasperate  the  memori- 
alists. They  had  exerted  themselves  for  years,  had  con- 
sulted and  combined,  seeking  to  call  public  attention  to 
what  they  believed  to  be  a  most  alarming  state  of  things. 
They  had  pointed  out  specifically  the  errors  which  excited 
their  apprehension,  and  which  they  believed  to  be  dangerously 
rife  in  many  quarters.  They  had  exposed  themselves  to  criti- 
cism, and  even  reproach  ;  by  their  firmness  and  persistence 
they  had  given  undoubted  evidence  of  the  strength  and  sin- 
cerity of  their  convictions.  They  had  encouraged  themselves 
with  the  hope  that  their  measures  must  bear  the  anticipated 
fruits,  and  their  own  conclusions  be  adopted  by  the  authori- 
tative voice  of  the  Church,  and  hence  with  sore  dis- 
a])pointment  and  strong  indignation  they  saw  their  whole 
Avork  undone  by  the  Assembly  of  1836, 

It  was  in  these  circumstances  that  the  memorable 
convention  of  1837  was  called,  not,  how'ever,  on  the 
Pittsburg-  plan.  That  was  too  open.  This  was  to  be 
more  cautious.  It  met  in  Philadelphia  a  few  days 
before  the  Asscmbl}'  convened.  ISTo  means  had  been 
spared  to  promote  the  objects  which  it  had  in  view\ 
A  confidential  committee  of  correspondence  had  been 
appointed  to  write  to  such  ministers  and  elders  as  were 
knowni  to  be  in  sympathy  with  them,  to  secure  their 
influence  in  the  appointment  to  the  next  Assembly  of 
commissioners  who  could  be  depended  on.  The  coi-- 
respondence  was  carefully  to  be  kept  out  of  the  public 
prints.     The  precaution,  however,  proved  vain. 

A  pamphlet  w^as  issued  by  the  confidential  committee, 
but  preceded  by  a  secret  circular,  addressed  in  a  con- 
fidential way-  to  persons  of  influence  supposed  to  be 
aggrieved  by  the  proceeding  of  the  Assembly  of  1836. 
It  asked  replies  to  certain  specified  questions,  and  held 


496  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

up  distinctly  tlie  in-obability  of  a  division  of  the  Church. 
It  subsequently  declared,  "  We  cannot  continue  in  the  same 
body."  "In  some  way  or  otlier,  these  men  must  be  scpa- 
I'ated  from  us.'^ 

Such  was  the  method  of  preparing  the  minds  of  the 
ministers  of  the  Church  and  the  members  of  Assembly 
for  decisive  measures.  The  convention  labored  in  the 
same  direction.  More  than  one  hundred  members  were 
in  attendance,  nearlj^  if  not  quite  all  of  them  commis- 
sioners to  the  Assembly.  The  question  was  agitated 
as  to  the  course  to  be  pursued.  It  was  yet  uncertain 
Avhieh  party  would  be  in  the  majoritj'.  This  alone 
occasioned  doubt,  apprehension,  and  hesitation.     The 


1  With  liistorical  documents  before  us,  and  with  (he  accounts  we 
have  received  of  the  conference  of  the  party  of  the  memorialists 
held  on  the  afternoon  of  the  day  on  which  the  Assembly  of  1836 
adjourned,  it  is  evident  that  the  policy  of  separation,  or  of  division 
in  some  form,  was  resolved  upon  before  the  members  of  the  Assem- 
bly dispersed.  The  "Princeton  Review"  of  July  of  that  year  still 
pleaded  for  union.  It  declared,  "We  cannot  see  how  any  set  of  men 
can,  with  a  good  conscience,  desire  to  effect  the  division  of  the 
Church,  until  they  are  called  upon  to  profess  what  they  do  not  be- 
lieve, or  required  to  do  what  they  cannot  approve."  In  their  view, 
no  good  could  result  from  division.  Discord  would  only  be  increased, 
error  promoted,  and  the  influence  of  Presbyterianism  destroyed. 

But  the  "Princeton  Keview"  pleaded  in  vain  the  cause  of  peace 
and  union.  After  the  conference  held,  as  above  stated,  the  moderator 
of  the  Assembly  (Witherspoon)  remarked  to  a  friend,  "The  die  is 
cast:  the  Church  is  to  be  divided."  The  confidential  committee, 
while  the  "Pieview"  was  yet  fresh  in  the  hands  of  its  readers,  had 
written — doubtless  after  careful  deliberation — the  language  noted 
above. 

The  publication  of  the  circular  of  the  committee  brought  matters 
to  a  crisis.  Only  a  few  weeks  after  the  "Review"  had  denounced 
division,  New  Brunswick  Presbytery  unanimoicshj  declared  themselves 
unable  to  see  any  prospect  of  good  in  the  continued  union  of  the 
discordant  parts  of  the  Church.  "The  die"  was  indeed  cast.  Di- 
vision was  a  foregone  conclusion. 


STATE    AND    I'ROGRESS    OF    THE    CHURCH.    1S30-1S37.    49f 

convention  was  at  a  loss  what  to  do.  If  a  minority, 
sliould  they  secede  and  constitute  a  new  Assembly,  or 
declare  themselves  the  Assembly  ?  If  a  majority,  should 
they  move  to  cite  the  Synods  regarded  as  obnoxious  ? 
Delay  was  out  of  the  question.  Some  decisive  step  must 
be  taken  at  once.  But  the  convention  was  irresolute 
and  divided  in  sentiment.  Dr.  Bl3^the  favored  citation. 
It  would  gain  a  double  object :  it  put  out  those  who 
made  the  trouble,  and  strengthened  the  party  who  were 
to  give  judgment.  E.  J.  Bi-eckenridge  denied  that  there 
was  power  anywhere  to  exclude  the  persons  at  whom 
the  speeches  and  memorials  were  aimed.  Dr.  Baxter 
was  opposed  to  setting  aside  and  excommunicating 
Synods.  Dr.  Junkin  declared,  "We  must  be  ready  for 
amputation."  Dr.  Wilson  was  in  favor  of  "ulterior 
and  decisive  measures;"  but  this  was  too  indefinite.  It 
was  proposed  to  separate  the  Pelagian  and  anti-Pres- 
byterian party  from  the  Presbytei'ian  Church,  but  he 
disavowed  any  knowledge  of  Pelagianism  in  the  Church. 
He  had  never  accused  any  man  of  it.  There  was  a  great 
deal  of  semi-Pelagianism  and  Ai*minianism.  But  this 
was  the  last  convention  he  should  ever  attend,  if  he 
lived  to  fourscore. 

There  was  some  reason  for  his  dissatisfaction.  The 
convention  was  strongly  enough  resolved  upon  decisive 
measures  if  possible;^  but  no  man  could  tell,  till  the 
Assembly  was  constituted,  whether  or  how  it  could 
be    done.      The    voluntary    societies    were    largely    dis- 

1  Dr.  Junkin  said,  "It  was  not  to  be  endured  that  in  the  General 

Assembly  there  should  be  fourteen  men  who  represented  but  two 

Presbyterian    churches."     Dr.   Musgrave  said,    "No!    they   never 

could  agree.     They  must  get  apart;  they  must  separate  somehow." 

Dr.  Blythe,  speaking  of   the  American  Home  Missionary  Society, 

said,  "  He  knew  the  man  well  who  guided  that  piratical  ship.     He 

knew  Absalom  Peters,  and  nothing  would  satisfy  that  man  but  the 

whole  carcase." 

42* 


498  HISTORY   OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

cussed.  Language  was  employed  which  was  avowedly 
an  indictment  of  the  American  Board.  But  Dr.  Smyth 
declared  that  the  Western  Missionary  Society  was 
equally  obnoxious  through  its  agents.  Others  as- 
serted that  the  Home  Missionary  Society  was  scarcely 
more  culpable  than  the  Tract  or  Sunday-School  Union 
Societies.  Yet  a  memorial  to  the  Assembly  was  at  last 
agreed  upon.  It  proceeded,  somewhat  after  the  manner 
of  preceding  memorials,  to  specify  the  doctrinal  errors 
that  were  alarmingly  rife,  and  which  struck  "  at  the 
foundation  of  the  system  of  gospel  grace."  It  declared 
it  the  duty  of  the  Church  to  bear  public  and  open  testi- 
mony against  them.  As  to  church  order,  it  minutely 
specified  the  several  ways  in  which  it  had  been  violated : 
as,  the  formation  of  Presbyteries  on  the  elective  affinity 
principle ;  the  refusal  of  Presbyteries  to  examine  appli- 
cants with  regular  certificates  of  dismission  from  other 
Presbyteries;  licensing  men  who  merely  adopted  the 
Confession  for  "substance  of  doctrine;"  the  formation 
of  many  and  various  creeds  for  individual  churches ; 
the  needless  ordination  of  men  as  evangelists,  thus 
multiplying  spurious  excitements  and  bringing  the 
ministry  into  contempt ;  the  disuse  of  ruling  elders,  or 
their  election  for  a  limited  time ;  a  progressive  change 
in  the  system  of  Presbyterial  representation;  the  un- 
limited and  irresponsible  power  of  voluntary  associa- 
tions over  Presbyteries;  and  the  unconstitutional  de- 
cisions and  violent  proceedings  of  several  General  As- 
semblies. 

It  complained  also  of  a  neglect  of  discipline,  mainly 
with  direct  reference  to  the  decisions  in  the  case  of  Mr. 
Bai-nes;  and  the  license  and  countenance  given  to 
error  preached  and  published  in  sermons,  newspapers, 
pamphlets,  &c.  the  influence  of  which  was  subversive 
of  "  our  system  of  truth  and  order,"  but  could  not  be 
reached  by  discipline. 


STATE    AND    PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHURCH,  1830-1837.   499 

As  to  the  metliod  of  reform,  it  declared,  in  behalf  of 
the  convention,  "We  cannot  consent  to  meet  any  longer 
on  the  floors  of  our  several  judicatories  to  contend 
against  the  visible  inroads  of  a  system  which,  whether 
so  designed  or  not,  is  crippling  our  energies  and  men- 
acing our  very  existence."  It  demanded  the  abroga- 
tion of  the  Plan  of  Union,  as  unconstitutional;  the  dis- 
countenancing of  the  Home  Missionary  and  Education 
Societies,  and  the  prevention  of  their  operation,  as  far 
as  possible,  within  the  bounds  of  the  Church;  the  dis- 
solution or  exclusion  of  every  church.  Presbytery,  or 
Synod  nominally  connected  with  the  Assembly,  which 
was  not  organized  on  Presbyterian  principles;  the  ex- 
amination by  Presbyteries  of  every  member  received, 
no  matter  what  his  standing  in  another  Presbytery ; 
the  citation  and  trial  of  errorists,  and  an  admonition 
of  the  Assembly  to  the  national  societies  to  be  cautious 
in  the  selection  of  their  agents,  so  as  not  to  interfere 
with  the  order  or  interest  of  the  Church. 

From  1833  to  1837,  w^iile  the  membership  of  the 
Church  had  absolutely  decreased,  the  Presbyteries  had 
increased  from  one  hundred  and  eleven  to  one  hundred 
and  thirty-five,  the  churches  from  two  thousand  five  hun- 
dred to  two  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-five,  the 
ministers  from  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-five  to  two 
thousand  one  hundred  and  forty.  But,  instead  of  a  cor- 
responding advance  in  the  membership  of  the  churches, 
there  had  been  not  only  a  relative  but  an  actual  de- 
crease. The  number  reported  in  the  minutes  of  As- 
sembly for  1833  was  two  hundred  and  thirty-three 
thousand  five  hundred  and  eighty,  or  an  increase  of 
about  sixty  thousand  during  the  three  years  that  had 
intervened  since  1830.  But  in  1837  the  entire  member- 
ship of  the  Church  was  reported  as  only  two  hundred 
and  twenty  thousand  five  hundred  and  fifty-seven. 


500  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

The  decrease  had  been  most  mavked  in  some  of  the 
Northern  Presbyteries,  especially  within  the  bounds  of 
the  Synods  of  Albany  and  Geneva.  Londonderry  had 
lost  about  four  hundred,  Chaniplain  nearly  one  thou- 
sand, Troy  over  two  thousand,  Albany  over  two  thou- 
sand, Columbia  about  eight  hundred.  This  was  the 
case  in  other  parts  of  the  Church,  although  to  a  less 
extent.  The  Px-esbytery  of  Elizabethtown  had  lost 
over  two  hundred.  New  Brunswick  over  five  hundred, 
and  in  Philadel^jhia  there  had  been  a  marked  decrease. 
New  York  Third,  Bedford,  Newark,  Newton,  and  Mont- 
rose had  advanced,  the  first  of  these  having  gained 
nearly  one  thousand  members.  In  quite  a  number  of 
the  Western  and  Southern  Presbyteries  there  had  been 
a  marked  decrease,  accounted  for  in  some  instances  by 
the  erection  of  new  Presbyteries. 

In  1834  the  Presbyteries  of  Ottawa,  Nashville,  Ar- 
kansas, Tuscaloosa,  and  Wooster  w^ere  erected;  in  1835, 
those  of  Marion,  Logansport,  Eoanoke,  Morgantown, 
Amity,  and  Louisiana;  in  1836,  those  of  Chemung, 
Maumee,  Loraine,  Medina,  Sidne}",  Peoria,  and  Alton; 
and  in  1837,  that  of  Greenbrier.  Two  Synods,  more- 
over, had  been  formed  from  that  of  Alabama  and  Mis- 
sissippi, w^hile  the  Synod  of  Michigan  had  been  erected 
and  that  of  Chesapeake  had  been  dissolved:  so  that  the 
number  of  Synods  in  1837  (tw^enty -three)  was  but  one 
more  than  in  1833. 

As  to  the  decrease  of  membership,  it  is  to  be  ac- 
counted for  through  the  influence  of  several  causes. 
The  controversies  of  the  Church  were  not  without 
their  influence.  Attention  was  diverted  by  them  from 
the  proper  work  of  the  Church.  Religion  languished, 
and  a  miich  smaller  number  than  in  preceding  years 
united  with  the  churches.  There  was,  moreover,  a  re- 
action from  the  fervor  and  enthusiasm  of  Avhat  had 
been  regarded  as  the  Revival  period;  and  this  reaction 


STATE    AND    PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHURCH,  1830-1837.    501 

was  most  marked,  as  we  have  seen,  in  some  of  the 
Northern  Presbyteries,  where  the  "  new  measures"  had 
been  most  extensively  adopted.  It  is  probable,  more- 
over, that  already  some  of  the  Congregational  churches 
under  the  care  of  Presbyteries  had  begun  to  withdraw 
and  had  ceased  to  be  reported.  Nor  could  the  religious 
decline  be  dissociated  from  the  wild  spirit  of  specula- 
tion which  began  just  at  this  period  to  spring  up,  and 
which  culminated  in  the  disastrous  financial  crisis  of 
1837. 

Taking  all  these  things  into  consideration,  it  is 
scarcely  surprising  that  the  Church  in  1837  should 
report  a  membership  of  leys  than  three  thousand  in 
advance  of  what  it  might  claim  in  1832.  Its  absolute 
advance  had  been  almovit  entirely  cheeked,  while  it 
was  forced  to  await  the  effects  of  the  reaction  of  the 
preceding  period. 

Yet  it  was  at  this  time  that  the  project  for  the  esta- 
blishment of  the  Union  Theological  Seminary  at  New 
York  was  conceived  and  executed.  It  was  justl}^  felt 
that  a  large  city  afforded  some  peculiar  advantages  for 
the  establishment  of  such  an  institution;  and  exj^erience 
has  justified  the  anticipation. 

It  was  felt,  moreover,  that,  sustained  by  the  patron- 
age and  confidence  of  the  pastors  and  churches  of  the 
city  of  New  Y^'ork,  and  those  who  sympathized  with 
them  throughout  the  Church,  the  proposed  institution 
might  be  competent!}''  endowed,  ably  officered,  and  well 
sustained.  It  would,  at  least,  in  the  hands  of  directors 
independent  of  the  Assembly,  remain  under  the  control 
of  men  who  would  promote  its  interests  without  refer- 
ence to  an  accidental  majority  in  the  Assembl}^.  It 
was  consequently  established,  and  placed  under  the 
care  of  a  Board  of  Directors  appointed  by  its  friends 
and  founders. 

The  institution  was  projected  in  1835.     In  October 


502  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

of  that  year  nine  persons — four  ministers,  of  whom 
Erskine  Mason  was  one  and  Dr.  Thomas  McAuley  and 
Henry  White,  probably,  two  of  the  others,  and  five  lay- 
men— mot  at  a  private  house  to  consult  in  regard  to 
the  project.^  The  original  faculty  *  were  Dr.  Thomas 
McAuley,  President,  and  Prolessor  of  Pastoral  Theologj- 
and  Church  Government,  Henry  ^yhite,  Professor  of 
Theology,  Dr.  Edward  Eobinson,  Professor  of  Oriental 
and  Biblical  Literature,  Dr.  Thomas  H.  Skinner,  Pro- 
fessor of  Sacred  Ehetoric,  Dr.  I.  S.  S])encer,  Professor 
of  Biblical  History  and  its  connections,  and  Erskine 
Mason,  Professor  of  Ecclesiastical  Histoiy.  Geoi'go 
Bush  w^as  temporarily  engaged  to  supply  the  place  of 
Dr.  Eobinson.' 

The  institution  was  founded  in  January,  1836,  and 
w^ent  into  operation  before  the  close  of  the  year.  It 
was  opened  for  instruction  December  5,  1836,  and  by 
its  almost  immediate  success  vindicated  the  wisdom  of 
its  founders.  The  first  class  of  graduates  (1839)  num- 
bered six;  the  second,  twenty-one, — since  which  period 
there  has  been  a  steady  and  healthful  advance,  until 
the  institution  takes  rank  in  character,  as  well  as  the 
number  and  standing  of  its  graduates,  with  similar  in- 
stitutions its  seniors  in  age.  Its  endowment  has  been 
increased  until  it  stands  upon  a  firm  and  permanent 
basis. 

^  Sprague,  iv.  709. 

2  A  very  strenuous  effort  was  made  to  secure  the  services  of  Pro- 
fessor Addison  Alexander,  of  Princeton. 
*  American  Quarterly  Register. 


THE    GENERAL   ASSEMBLY    OF    1S37.  503 


CHAPTER  XL. 

THE    GENERAL   ASSEMBLIES    OF    1837    AND    1838. 

The  General  Assembly  of  1837  met  in  the  Central 
Presbyterian  Church  in  Philadelphia,  on  the  18th  of 
May,  and  was  opened  with  a  sermon  by  the  Rev.  Dr. 
John  Witherspoon  from  the  words  (1  Cor.  i.  10,  11), 
"Now,  I  beseech  you,  brethren,  by  the  name  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that  ye  all  speak  the  same  thing, 
and  that  there  be  no  divisions  among  you;  but  that  ye 
be  perfectly  joined  together  in  the  same  mind,  and  in 
the  same  judgment.  For  it  hath  been  declared  to  me 
of  you,  mj'  brethren,  hy  them  which  are  of  the  house 
of  Chloe,  that  there  are  contentions  among  you." 

The  parties  into  Avhich  the  Assembly  was  divided 
w^ere  ably  represented.  On  one  side  were  Rev.  Messrs. 
Breckenridge,  Plumer,  Murray,  and  Drs.  Green,  Elliott, 
Alexander,  Junkin,  Baxter,  Cuyler,  Graham,  and  With- 
erspoon. On  the  other  w^ere  Drs.  Beman,  Porter,  of 
Catskill,  McAuley,  Peters,  and  Cleland,  and  Rev.  Messrs. 
Duffield,  Gilbert,  Cleav eland,  Dickinson,  and  Judge  Jes- 
sup.  The  respective  strength  of  the  parties  was  declared 
in  the  vote  for  moderator,  the  candidate  of  the  former 
receiving  one  hundred  and  thirty-seven  votes,  while  the 
other  candidate,  Baxter  Dickinson,  received  but  one  hun- 
dred and  six.  Thus  encouraged,  the  memorialists  were  con- 
fident that  they  should  now  be  enabled  to  adopt  decisive 
measures. 

The  Committee  on  Bills  and  Overtures  consisted  of 
Messrs.  Witherspoon,  Alexander,  Bemau,  Cleland,  Mur- 
ray, Todd,  and  Latta,  Avith  four  elders.  To  them,  along 
with  overtures  from  Presbyteries  on  the  same  subject, 


504  HISTORY    OF    PRSSBYTERIANISM. 

the  memorial  was  referred.  The  report  of  the  commit- 
tee recommended  the  adoption  of  the  testimony  of  the 
memorialists  concerning  doctrines,  as  the  testimony  of 
the  Assembly.  Objection  was  made.  The  list  of  errors 
noted  was  fifteen  in  number.  Some  members  thought 
that  others  should  be  added.  One  member  proposed 
four  others.  Dr.  Beman  thought  the  list  already  too 
long.  Of  some  mentioned  in  it  he  had  never  before 
heard.  It  was  finally  resolved  to  postpone  the  question 
for  the  present,  and  to  take  up  the  jjortion  of  the  report 
bearing  upon  the  Plan  of  Union. 

This  sul)ject  came  before  the  Assemblj'  on  the  after- 
noon of  Monday,  May  22.  It  was  resolved,  first,  that 
between  the  two  brandies  of  the  Church  concerned  in 
the  Plan  of  Union,  sentiments  of  mutual  respect  and 
esteem  ought  to  be  maintained,  and  that  no  reasonable 
effoi't  should  be  spared  to  preserve  a  perfectly  good 
understanding  between  them;  secondly,  that  it  was 
expedient  to  continue  the  plan  of  friendly  intercourse 
betAveen  them  as  it  then  existed ;  but,  thirdl}^,  that  as 
the  Plan  of  Union  adojited  for  the  new  settlements  in 
1801  was  originally  an  unconstitutional  act  on  the  part 
of  the  Assembly, — these  important  rules  having  never 
been  submitted  to  the  Presbyteries, — and  as  they  were 
totally  destitute  of  authority  as  proceeding  from  the 
General  Association  of  Connecticut,  which  is  vested 
with  no  power  to  legislate  in  such  cases,  and  especially 
to  enact  laws  to  regulate  churches  not  within  her 
limits,  and  as  much  confusion  and  irregularity  have 
arisen  from  this  unnatural  and  unconstitutional  system 
of  union,  therefore  it  is  resolved  that  "the  act  of  the 
Assembly  of  1801,  entitled  a  'Plan  of  Union,'  be,  and 
the  same  is  hereby,  abrogated."  The  vote  upon  this 
important  measure,  which  tested  the  relative  strength 
of  the  parties  in  the  Assembly,  stood  one  hundred  and 
forty-three  to  one  hundred  and  ten. 


THE   GENERAL   ASSEMBLY   OF    1837.  505 

Thus  was  the  Plan  of  Union  abrogated  as  "unnatural 
and  unconstitutional."  Its  friends  naturally  felt  aggrieved. 
It  had  been,  they  said,  universally  approved  and  un- 
questioned for  a  quarter  of  a  century.  Its  character 
— as  by  practice  and  continued  recognition  the  com- 
mon law  of  the  Church  —  was  disregarded,  while  its 
results  in  building  up  churches  and  preserving  harmony 
in  the  frontier  settlements  procured  for  it  scarcely  a 
kindly  word  from  the  party  of  the  memorialists.  The 
assent  of  the  other  contracting  party — the  General  Asso- 
ciation of  Connecticut  —  was  not  even  asked,  or  pro- 
posed to  be  sought.  The  abrogation,  therefore,  it  was 
argued,  bore  the  aspect  of  a  breach  of  faith,  and  as 
such  might  justly  be  regarded  as  void  and  of  no  effect. 
It  Avas,  moreover,  in  substance,  recommended  by  the 
memorial  of  a  body  unknown  to  the  Presbyterian 
Church  and  unrecognized  in  its  constitution,  members 
of  w^hich  formed  a  majority  of  the  committee  who  re- 
ported in  its  favor.  These  and  other  objections  Avere 
embodied  in  a  protest  which  received  the  signature  of 
one  hundred  and  three  members  of  the  Assembly. 

From  the  first,  none  could  doubt  that  the  fate  of  "  The 
Plan"  was  scaled.  Its  abrogation  had  been  resolved 
upon,  and  there  was  to  be  no  unnecessary  delay.  By- 
postponement  for  the  action  of  another  Assembly,  the 
favorable  moment  lor  carrj'ing  out  the  views  of  the 
memorialists  might  be  lost,  and  lost  forever.  Dr.  Green 
said  the  plan  w^as  well  designed,  but  had  done  all  the 
good  it  ever  would,  and  was  not  w^orking  well.  Dr. 
Alexander  declared  that  it  had  been  originally  adoj)ted 
as  a  temporary  expedient,  but  it  was  working  ill  and 
ought  no  longer  to  be  tolerated.  Dr.  Junkin  expressed 
his  apprehension  of  the  foreign  and  un-Presbyterian 
element  which  it  introduced  into  the  judicatories  of  the 
Church.  On  the  other  hand,  some  voices  were  heard  in 
its  favor.     Dr.  McAulcy  said  that  he  had  been  a  mis- 

Voi,.  II.— I?. 


506  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

sionary  aa  early  as  1799,  and  had  seen  the  operation  of 
the  plan  in  the  new  settlements.  Its  influence  had 
been  good  3  and  he  could  not  call  it  unwise  or  unnatural, 
for  it  had  sprung  from  the  necessities  of  the  times.  lie 
should  not  be  so  much  opjDOsed  to  the  resolution  for  its 
abrogation  if  time  (say  three  years)  was  given  to  the 
churches  to  change  their  forms.  Others,  who  admitted 
that  the  plan  was  extra-constitutional,  pleaded  in  its 
favor  and  expressed  apprehension  of  the  results  of  its 
abrogation.  It  was  pronounced  a  virtual  division  of 
the  Church  and  as  such  to  have  been  designed.  The 
principal  speakers  on  opposite  sides  were  Eev.  William 
S.  Plumer  and  Dr.  Absalom  Peters;  and  the  discussion 
was  continued  with  much  ability  till  Tuesday  after- 
noon. 

Meanwhile,  the  other  portion  of  the  report  of  the 
committee,  presenting  the  list  of  doctrinal  errors  to  be 
condemned,  was  from  time  to  time  postponed.  Those 
who  favored  its  adoption  were  apprehensive  lest,  in  the 
course  of  discussion,  it  should  be  overladen  with  amend- 
ments, and  the  list  become  so  enlarged  as  to  lose  all 
point  or  pertinenc}^.  By  their  own  votes,  therefore,  it 
was  still  kept  back.  Other  measures  were  to  be  first 
tried. 

On  Thursday  afternoon,  resolutions  were  offered  by 
Mr.  Plumer  to  the  effect  that  "  such  inferior  judicatories 
as  are  charged  by  common  fame  with  irregularities''  be 
cited  to  the  bar  of  the  next  Assembly;  that  a  si:)ecial 
committee  be  appointed  to  ascertain  these  and  digest  a 
suitable  plan  of  procedure;  and  that  the  report  of  this 
committee  be  made  "  as  soon  as  practicable."  A  third 
resolution,  on  the  ground  that  such  citation  was  the 
commencement  of  process,  proposed  that  the  members 
of  the  aforesaid  judicatories  be  excluded  from  a  seat  in 
the  next  Assembly  till  their  case  should  be  decided. 

The  discussion  of  the  resolutions   continued  to  the 


THE    GENERAL    ASSEMBLY    OF    1837.  507 

close  of  Thursday  and  through  the  greater  part  of  the 
following  day.  After  Mr.  Plumer  had  closed  his  argu- 
ment in  their  support,  he  was  answered  by  Judge  Jessup, 
who  opposed  the  resolutions  as  unconstitutional.  The 
i"ight  to  arraign  belonged  to  the  judicatorj^  next  above 
the  body  charged.  E.  J.  Breckenridge  claimed  this  as 
an  admission  that  Synods  might  be  arraigned,  and,  of 
course,  disciplined;  and  on  whom  could  the  effect  fall 
but  on  Presbyteries  and  churches  ?  The  Assembly  might 
appoint  committees  to  visit  ever}-  Presbytery,  arraign 
unsound  members,  and  on  appeal  bring  them  to  its  bar. 
The  pi'ocess  might  be  difficult,  indeed;  but  the  straight 
waj'  was  the  safe  way.  Ilev.  Elipha  White  did  not  con- 
cede the  right  of  the  Assembly  to  cite  a  Synod.  It 
could  have  power  over  ministers  only  in  cases  regularly 
brought  befoi-e  it  by  appeal.  The  resolutions  tended  to 
consolidation  in  the  General  Assembly,  robbing  Synods 
and  Presbyteries  of  their  rights. 

Dr.  Beman  spoke  of  the  impracticability  of  carrying 
out  the  resolutions.  It  would  be  impossible,  according 
to  the  book  of  discipline,  and  if  attempted  would  ex- 
cite strong  resistance  in  Presbyteries  and  churches. 
Dr.  Baxter  favored  the  resolutions  as  a  basis  for  sub- 
sequent action.  Presbyterians  and  Congregationalists 
could  not  live  together  in  peace,  and  the}^  ought  to 
separate.  Each  denomination  would  thus  be  more  effi- 
cient. Mr.  Dickinson  objected  to  the  indefiniteness  of 
the  resolutions.  The  Assembly  had  not  the  facts  on 
which  to  base  its  action.  The  plan  projjosed  was  un- 
constitutional. The  severest  discipline  was  proposed 
before  taking  the  preliminary  steps,  and  odium  was 
cast  on  one -half  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  Mr. 
Plumer  and  Dr.  McAuley,  on  ojiposite  sides,  closed  the 
discussion,  and  the  vote  on  the  resolutions  showed  a 
wavering  in  the  hitherto  firm  phalanx  of  the  majority. 
It  stood  one  hundred  and  twenty-eight  ayes  to  one 


508  iiisTuRv  oir  i>rksbyterianism. 

hundred  and  t\vent3'-two  nays.  It  was  a  critical  mo- 
ment. The  victory  had  been  gained,  but  with  a  relative 
loss  which  showed  that  scrupulous  consciences  could 
not  be  bound  by  the  policy  of  the  already-reduced  ma- 
jority. It  was  natural  that  apprehension  should  be 
felt  of  the  issue.  As  soon  as  the  debate  had  closed, 
Mr.  Brcckenridge  gave  notice  that  he  should  bring  in 
a  resolution  for  the  voluntary  division  of  the  Church. 
He  is  said  to  have  done  it  in  consequence  of  a  propo- 
sition submitted  to  him  by  Dr.  Peters. 

It  was,  indeed,  evident  to  both  parties  that  the  pros- 
pect of  continued  harmony  in  the  same  body  had  en- 
tirely vanished,  and  it  was  not  unnatural  that  the 
minority — with  the  resolutions  just  passed,  held  in 
terrorcm  over  their  heads,  and  with  the  prospective 
triumph  which  would  thus  be  assured  to  their  oppo- 
nents in  the  next  Assembly — should  be  far  from  indis- 
posed to  take  into  considci-ation  the  plan  of  a  voluntary 
division,  offered  them  by  a  half-dismayed  majority.  On 
Saturday  morning  the  resolution  of  Mr.  Breckenridgo 
was  adopted,  and  a  committee  of  ten — five  members 
from  each  side  of  the  house — was  appointed  to  consider 
it  and  digest  a  plan  for  carrj^ing  it  out.  The  committee 
consisted  of  Messrs.  Brcckenridge,  Alexander,  Cuyler, 
Witherspoon,  and  Ewing  on  one  side,  and  Messrs.  Be- 
'  man,  McAuley,  Peters,  Dickinson,  and  Jessup  on  the 
other.  This  committee  met  for  consultation  from  time 
to  time  until  Tuesday  morning  (May  30),  when  their 
chairman  reported  that  they  were  unable  to  agree  and 
asked  to  be  discharged.  Each  portion  of  the  committee, 
however,  made  a  separate  report,  accompanied  b}'  the 
papers  containing  the  propositions  which  had  been  mu- 
tually exchanged. 

In  these  papers  the  insurmountable  difficulties  of  a 
voluntary  division  are  distinctly  brought  out.  The 
questions  of  the  true  succession  of  the  General  Assem- 


THE    GENERAL    ASSEMBLY    OF    1837.  509 

bly,  the  power  of  the  Assembly  to  take  the  initiatory 
steps  as  proposed,  and  the  propriety  of  submitting  the 
matter  to  the  Presbyteries,  presented  points  on  which 
agreement  was  impossible;  while  the  report  of  the  com- 
mittee representing  the  minority  of  the  Assembly  ex- 
pressed the  conviction  that  the  members  of  f/u's  Assem- 
bly, uninstructed  by  the  Presbyteries,  had  neither  a 
constitutional  nor  moral  right  to  adopt  a  plan  for  the 
division  of  the  Church, — a  plan  which  might  result  in 
evils  greater  than  those  it  projDOsed  to  remove. 

In  these  circumstances,  it  only  remained  that  the 
committee  be  discharged.  This  was  accordingly  done, 
and  the  whole  subject  was  laid  upon  the  table  by  a  vote 
of  one  hundred  and  thirty-eight  ayes  to  one  hundred 
and  seven  nays.  But  the  purpose  to  effect  a  division 
of  the  Church,  although  the  committee  had  not  been  able 
to  agree,  was  not  abandoned  by  the  majority.  They 
reaffirmed  the  action  of  the  Assembly  of  1835,  asserting 
the  constitutional  right  of  every  Presbytery  to  examine 
all  seeking  a  connection  with  them,  and,  moreover,  en- 
joined such  examination.  Meanwhile,  the  difficulties 
of  the  method  proposed  for  the  citation  of  inferior 
judicatories — as  eloquently  set  forth  by  Dr.  Beman — 
had  produced  a  profound  impression.  Dr.  Baxter  was 
astounded  and  distressed.  He  saw  more  distinctly  than 
many  others  the  inextricable  confusion  in  which  the 
next  Assembly  would  be  sure  to  be  involved.  If  a 
Presbytery  was  cited,  it  would  be  sustained  by  its 
Synod;  if  a  Synod,  it  would  be  defended  by  its  Pres- 
byteries. The  Gordian  knot  could  not  be  untied.  It 
must  be  cut.  The  sagacity  of  Dr.  Baxter  enabled  him 
to  perceive  this,  and  he  was  led  to  seek  for  some  prin- 
ciple which  would  render  plausible,  if  not  justifiable,  a 
more  summary  method.  This  principle  he  persuaded 
himself  he  had  discovered  in  the  proposition  that  "an 
unconstitutional   law  involves  the   unconstitutionality 

43» 


510  HISTORY    OF   PEESBYTERIANISM. 

of  all  that  is  done  under  it."^  It  was  the  principle 
which,  in  the  political  history  of  the  country,  involved 
the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise  and  its  inferential 
results.  Dr.  Baxter  blinded  himself  to  its  remote  con 
sequences.  He  failed  to  perceive  that  it  reached — if 
applicable  at  all — far  beyond  the  bodies  which  he  sought 
to  arraign  or  exclude  from  the  Church;  or  perhaps  he 
was  content  to  apply  it  just  so  far  as  might  appear 
expedient. 

The  principle  was  endorsed  by  Mr.  Plumer  and  adopt- 
ed as  his  own.  As  such  he  embodied  it  in  a  resolution 
which  he  offered  (Tuesday  morning,  May  30)  to  the 


1  The  reference  to  the  Yazoo  claims,  made  in  this  connection,  was 
a  most  unfortunate  one.  It  was  found  in  the  course  of  the  discus- 
sion that  their  history  furnished  no  proper  analogy  to  the  case  in 
hand,  except  on  a  single  point,  in  which  it  went  directly  against  those 
who  cited  it.  The  innocent  parties,  who  had  obtained  possession 
second-hand,  were  left  unmolested.  The  point,  moreover,  on  which 
Dr.  Baxter  relied — that  if  a  law  was  unconstitutional,  all  that  was 
done  under  it  was  likewise  unconstitutional — was  replied  to  by 
Dr.  Peters.  Without  referring  to  civil  parallels,  like  the  Missouri 
Compromise,  for  instance,  under  which  State  after  State  was  received 
into  the  Union,  and  not  ejected  on  its  repeal,  it  suffices  to  note 
the  positions  taken  in  the  Yazoo  case  by  Chief-Justice  Marshall,  as 
cited  by  Dr.  Peters.  The  Chief-Justice  said,  "The  question  whether 
fa  law  be  void  for  its  repugnancy  to  the  Constitution  is,  at  all  times, 
a  question  of  much  delicacy,  which  ought  seldom,  if  ever,  to  be  de- 
cided in  the  affirmative  in  a  doubtful  case.  .  .  .  For  a  party  to  pro- 
nounce its  own  deed  invalid,  whatever  cause  may  be  assigned  for  its 
invalidity,  must  be  considered  as  a  mere  act  of  power,  which  must 
find  its  vindication  in  a  train  of  reasoning  not  often  heard  in  courts 
of  justice.  ...  If  an  act  be  done  under  a  law,  a  succeeding  Legis- 
lature cannot  undo  it.  The  past  cannot  be  recalled  by  the  most 
absolute  power.  .  .  .  Where  a  law  is  in  its  nature  a  contract,  where 
absolute  rights  have  vested  under  that  contract,  a  repeal  of  the  law 
cannot  divest  these  rights  ;  and  the  act  of  annulling  them,  if  legiti- 
mate, is  rendered  so  by  a  power  applicable  to  the  case  of  every  in- 
dividual in  the  community." 


THE    GENERAL    ASSEMBLY    OF    1837.  511 

Assemblj'  immediatclj'  after  the  Committee  on  Divibion 
had  been  discharged.  This  resolution  was  to  the  effect 
"  that,  by  the  operation  of  the  abi'Ogation  of  the  Plan 
of  Union  of  1801,  the  Synod  of  the  Western  Reserve 
is,  and  is  hereby  declared  to  be,  no  longer  a  part  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  of  the  United  States  of  America." 
This  was  the  position  to  which  the  majority  had  at  last 
been  driven.  If  this  could  be  maintained,  if  the  ma- 
jority could  be  rallied  unitedly  to  its  support,  their 
triumph  was  sui'e. 

But  the  resolution  was  not  offered  unadvisedly  or 
■without  precautions.  On  the  night  preceding  the  day 
on  which  the  resolution  was  offered,  the  members  of 
the  convention  met.  Propositions  were  made  and  silent 
votes  were  given  j  but  no  speeches  were  made.  The 
feeling  and  interest  of  the  occasion  were  intense.  It  was 
resolved,  in  order  to  prevent  confusion  or  the  risk  of 
disagreement  or  surprise,  that  the  subjects  to  be  brought 
before  the  Assembly  should  first  be  agreed  upon  in  con- 
vention,— that  the  propositions  agreed  upon  should  be 
2)resented  by  some  one  known  to  all.  The  principle 
set  forth  by  Dr.  Baxter  was  accepted  and  endorsed. 
Five  persons  were  named,  one  of  whom  should  bring 
it  in  a  practical  form  before  the  Assembly.  It  was 
resolved  that,  in  case  the  Committee  on  Division  could 
not  agree  on  some  acceptable  pi'oposition,  the  principle 
should  be  applied  in  the  first  instance  to  the  Western 
Reserve  Synod. 

The  way  having  thus  been  prepared,  the  resolution 
was  ofiered.  Dr.  Baxter  rose  to  defend  the  princijjle  it 
involved,  although  few  perhaps  knew  that  it  was  the 
product  of  his  own  subtle  brain.  He  cited  the  Yazoo 
claims  in  Georgia  in  illustration  of  it, — unaware,  pro- 
bably, of  the  real  facts  of  the  case  or  the  principles 
laid  down  by  Chief-Justice  Marshall.  He  applied  it  to 
the  case  of  the  Western  Reserve  Synod.    His  logic  left 


512  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

all  the  churches  exposed  indiscriminately  to  the  sure 
doom  of  excision.  They  all  had  but  "one  neck."  As 
he  proceeded,  he  revealed  the  fact  that  his  reasonings 
derived  their  force  from  the  apprehended  necessity  of 
a  separation. 

He  was  followed  b}^  Judge  Jessup,  who  denied  the 
power  of  the  Assembly  to  cut  off  the  Synod.  Such  a 
measure  was  to  be  deprecated,  as  unconstitutional  and, 
moreover,  unnecessary.  Dr.  McAuley  continued  the 
discussion,  portraying  with  deep  feeling  and  at  times 
with  much  pathos  the  lamentable  bearings  of  such  a 
measure  as  the  one  proposed.  The  act,  he  said,  was 
an  attempt  at  dissolving  churches,  and  unclothing  min- 
isters blessed  of  God.  Other  remedies  for  the  evils 
complained  of  might  surely  be  devised,  and  remedies 
more  accordant  with  justice  and  prudence.  Mr.  Plu- 
mer  replied,  denying  that  the  churches  were  dissolved 
or  the  office  of  the  ministry  interfered  with.  If  there 
Avere  true  Presbyterian  churches  in  the  region,  they 
would  come  out  and  unite  with  the  Presbyterian  Church 
on  the  true  principle,  while  others  would  follow  their 
predilections. 

Mr.  Cleaveland  followed.  His  earnest  desire,  he  said, 
was  for  peace.  Eetaining  the  floor  upon  the  adjourn- 
ment of  the  Assembly,  he  concluded  his  speech  on  the 
following  morning,  closing  with  a  motion  to  postpone 
the  resolution  in  order  to  take  up  the  question  of  sepa- 
ration in  a  constitutional  and  amicable  way.  Dr.  Jun- 
kin  opposed  postponement,  and  advocated  speedy  sepa- 
ration. The  overwhelming  majority  of  the  churches 
in  the  obnoxious  Synod,  he  declared,  were  not  Presby- 
terian. This  was  disputed  by  members  of  the  Synod. 
The  discussion  was  continued  by  Dr.  Peters,  and  on 
the  following  day  by  Judge  Jessup,  S.  C.  Anderson,  and 
Mr.  Ewing.  A  general  call  was  at  length  made  for  the 
previous  question,  Avhen  the  motion  to  postpone  was 


THE    GENERAL   ASSEMBLY    OF    1837.  513 

lost  and  the  main  question  was  put.  By  a  vote  of  one 
hundred  and  thirty-two  ayes  to  one  hundred  and  five 
nays,  the  Western  Eeserve  Synod  was  declared  not  to 
be  a  part  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United 
States.' 

The  Rubicon  was  now  crossed.  The  decisive  prin- 
ciple had  been  adopted,  and  all  that  remained  was 
simply  a  matter  of  detail.  The  majority  were  sure  of 
their  ground.  They  proceeded  to  perfect  their  work 
with  coolness  and  deliberation.  On  Friday  afternoon 
a  resolution  was  passed  "  affirming  that  the  organiza- 
tion and  ojierations  of  the  so-called  American  Home 
Missionary  Society  and  American  Education  Society, 
and  its  branches  of  whatever  name,  are  exceedingly 
injurious  to  the  peace  and  purity  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church.  We  recommend,  therefore,  that  they  cease  to 
operate  within  any  of  our  churches."  Upon  this  reso- 
lution the  vote  stood  one  hundred  and  twenty -four  yeas 
to  eighty-six  nays. 

On  Saturday  morning,  the  resolution  proposing  to 
exscind  the  Synods  of  Utica,  Geneva,  and  Genesee  in 
the  same  manner  as  the  Western  Eeserve  Synod  had 
been  exscinded,  was  brought  forward.  Judge  Jessup 
proposed  a  substitute  requiring  investigation  and  cita- 
tion. Discussion  arose;  and  it  was  not  till  Monday 
afternoon  that  the  question  could  be  taken.  It  was 
then  determined  by  a  vote  of  one  hundred  and  fifteen 
ayes  to  eighty-eight  nays,  and  the  obnoxious  Sj'nods 
were  "declared  to  be  out  of  the  ecclesiastical  connection 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church"  and  "  not  in  form  or  in 
fact  an  integral  portion  of  said  Church."  Further  re- 
solutions were  adopted,  declaring  "the  gross  disorders" 
that  had  prevailed  in  the  Synods,  disclaiming  any  dis- 

1  The  "  Princeton  Review,"  while  asserting  the  right  of  the  As- 
sembly to  take  such  action,  very  significantly  adds,  "Whether 
■wisely  or  unwisely,  it  is  not  for  us  to  say." 


51-i  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

position  to  disturb  the  harmony  of  churches  and  the 
standing  of  ministers,  and  directing  churches  and  min- 
isters Presbyterian  in  doctrine  and  order  to  apply  for 
admission  to  Presbyteries  most  conveniently  located. 

Little  now  remained  to  complete — so  far  as  the  occa- 
sion would  allow — the  task  -which  the  majority  had  re- 
solved to  accomplish.  The  Third  Presbj^tery  of  Phila- 
delphia, of  which  Mr.  Barnes  was  a  member,  was  re- 
garded as  especially  obnoxious;  and  with  this  the  Pi'es- 
bj'tcry  of  Wilmington  was  also  classed.  On  the  after- 
noon of  Tuesday  (June  7)  a  resolution  was  offered  by 
E.  J.  Breckinridge  that  these  two  Presbyteries  be  dis- 
solved,— the  constituent  members  and  churches  to  apjjly 
to  neighboring  bodies  to  be  received,  as  in  the  case  of 
ministers  and  churches  in  the  exscinded  Synods.  Wil- 
mington  Presbytery  w^as  finally  omitted  from  the  reso- 
lution ;  but  in  the  case  of  Philadelphia  Third  there  was  no 
hesitation  or  scruple  as  to  the  course  to  be  pursued.  It  was 
declared  to  be  dissolved,  and  it  was  left  for  its  members  to 
seek  connection  with  some  other  body.  Some  of  them  had 
been  born  and  educated  m  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and 
regarded  the  act  by  which  they  seemed  to  be  disinherited, 
as  one  of  peculiar  hardship.  But  in  the  judgment  of  the 
Assembly,  the  continued  existence  of  the  Presbytery  to 
which  they  belonged  was  inconsistent  with  the  peace  of  the 
Church.  It  ceased  of  course  to  be  any  longer  represented 
in  the  Assembly. 

No  further  obstruction  now-  remained  to  the  perfect- 
ing of  those  measures  which  had  been  so  strenuously 
opposed  by  the  party  represented  by  the  minority  of 
the  Assembly.  The  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  was 
established,  almost  without  discussion.  The  Presby- 
teries w-ere  enjoined  strictness  in  exercising  discipline, 
and  the  errors  in  doctrine  and  practice,  as  drawn  up 
by  the  memorialists,  were  condemned.  Meanwhile,  the 
various  parties  affected  by  the  action  of  the  Assembly 
prepared  and  presented  protests  against  the  proceed- 


THE    GENERAL    ASSEMBLY    OF    1837.  515 

ings.  In  these  protests  tbc  injustice  of  the  measures 
adopted  was  set  forth,  as  well  as  the  consequences  to 
which  they  would  legitimately  lead.  The  Assembly 
was  declared  to  have  been  dismembered  by  its  own 
act.  Members,  without  citation,  trial,  or  any  notice  to 
the  Presbyteries  which  they  represented,  were  sum- 
marily excluded  from  the  Assembly.  This  was  the  case 
not  only  with  those  who  came  from  Presbyteries  repre- 
senting churches  formed  on  the  accommodation  plan,  but 
from  bodies  organized  by  the  Synod  of  Pittsburg  and 
as  sound  as  that  Synod  itself.  Nearly  the  whole  As- 
sembly might  have  been  unseated  b}'  a  consistent  and 
thorough  application  of  the  principles  it  had  adopted. 
It  was  utterly  impossible  to  say  how  far  the  imputed 
mischief  had  spread.  It  was  impossible  to  say  how  far 
the  legislation  and  the  very  constitution  of  successive 
Assemblies  had  been  vitiated  by  a  plan  "projected  and 
brought  into  operation  by  some  of  the  wisest  and  best 
men  the  Presbyterian  Church  has  ever  known."  The 
poison — if  such  it  was — had  for  thirty-six  3'ears  been 
rankling  through  the  frame;  and  it  was  difficult  to  say 
where  that  drop  of  blood  was  to  be  found  which  had 
not  something  of  the  virus  in  it.  In  the  shape  of  eccle- 
siastical legislation  it  pervaded  the  minutes  of  the  As- 
sembly and  the  records  of  Presbyteries  and  Synods. 
In  the  form  of  wealth  largely  and  freely  given  it  was 
to  be  met  in  the  endowments  and  scholarships  of  col- 
leges and  theological  seminaries.  It  was  in  Princeton, 
in  Alleghany,  in  Union,  and  beyond  the  mountains,  in 
Tennessee.  It  had  been  assimilated,  as  food  to  the 
body,  through  the  Avhole  system.  Even  the  brick  and 
mortar  of  many  a  sacred  edifice  might  have  almost 
cried  out  with  remonstrance  against  that  tone  of  in- 
tolerance which  found  expression  within  its  walls. 
To  attempt  to  discriminate  that  which  in  the  view  of 
the  majority  was  unsound,  and  that  also  which  must 


516  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

therefore  be  admitted  to  be  vitiated  by  such  unsound- 
ness, was  like  proposing  to  determine  what  parts  of 
the  head,  heart,  members,  and  vital  currents,  and  even 
bones  and  sinews,  should  be  dispensed  with. 

Such  an  attempt  was  possible  indeed  only,  when  the 
action  was  based  no  longer  on  doctrinal  heresies,  but  simply 
on  the  unconstitutionality  of  the  Plan  of  Union.  No 
wonder  the  Assembly  should  find  it  "  painful,"  as  they  con- 
fess, "  to  declare  bodies  in  which  were  brethren  whose  piety 
we  cannot  question,  and  whose  activity  in  extending  the 
visible  Church  we  must  regard  with  approbation,  to  be  no 
longer  connected  with  the  body."  "We  could  not  hope 
they  would  walk  together  in  peace  with  us,"  was  the 
apology  offered, — an  apology  that  must  be  judged  in  view 
of  the  necessity  that  called  it  forth. 

The  task  of  the  Assembly  was  completed  by  the  adop- 
tion, in  substance,  of  the  memorial  of  the  convention 
above  mentioned.  The  resolutions  condemning  doc- 
trinal errors  were  passed  by  an  overwhelming  majority. 
With  slight  modifications,  they  would  have  received 
nearly,  if  not  quite,  unanimous  support.  A  protest, 
headed  by  the  name  of  George  Duffield  and  signed  by 
fourteen  others,  was  offered,  in  which  the  objectionable 
features  of  the  resolutions  were  reviewed,  and  the 
"  error"  and  the  "  true  doctrine"  were  placed  side  by 
side,  while  other  doctrinal  errors  were  specified  against 
which  the  Assembly  had  not  borne  testimony.  The 
utter  impropriety  of  asserting  in  the  resolutions  that 
the  doctrinal  errors  specified  were  rife  throughout  the 
Church  was  pointed  out;  and  the  injustice  of  imputing 
them  to  the  minority  as  a  body  was  inferred  from  the 
fact  that  the  "gentlemen  of  Princeton"  had  distinctly 
declared  their  conviction  that  they  were  not  held  by  one- 
tenth  part  of  the  ministers  of  the  Church. 

But   the    "gentlemen    of   Princeton"    were    no    longer 


THE  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY   OF   1837.  517 

dudecided.  They  remained  and  acted  with  the  Assembly. 
They  had  done  what  was  in  their  power  to  allay  the  agi- 
tation of  the  Church.  They  had,  as  we  have  seen,  opposed 
the  representations  sent  abroad  to  excite  suspicion  of  doc- 
trinal unsoundness  when  such  unsoundness  did  not  exist. 
Thev  had  brought  down  upon  themselves  the  censure  of 
those  into  whose  counsels  they  could  not  enter.  They  had 
forced  Dr.  Green  to  say  he  "  would  do  them  good  against 
their  will."  But  they  could  neither  arrest  the  action  of  the 
Assembly  nor  stay  the  division  that  had  become  inevitable. 
They  found  themselves  forced  to  accept  the  situation,  and 
by  their  votes  the  decisive  measures  of  the  majority  were 
sustained. 

The  exscinding  act  took  a  larger  portion  of  the  Church 
by  surprise.  The  result  was  such  as  few  could  have  antici- 
pated. The  very  statement  of  it  was  startling.  Four 
Synods  and  nearly  thirty  Presbyteries,  with  a  church  mem- 
bership far  greater  than  that  of  the  entire  Church  at  the 
time  the  Plan  of  Union  was  formed,  were  declared  no  longer 
a  part  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  A  provision  almost 
coeval  with  the  Constitution,  and  indeed  by  many  regarded 
as  equally  sacred,  that  had  been  recognized  as  the  law  of 
the  Church  for  more  than  a  generation,  and  to  which  hun- 
dreds of  churches  had  looked  as  their  charter  of  right,  was 
summarily  set  aside.  All  this  was  obvious  enough.'  It 
was  not  equally  obvious  how  incongruous  the  Plan  of  Union 
was  with  the  Presbyterian  system,  and  what  infelicities  of 
organization  and  representation,  as  well  as  conflicts  of 
policy,  its  continued  operation  was  sure  to  engender. 

1  The  impression  made  by  the  acts  of  the  Assembly  upon  the 
minds  of  not  a  few  who  were  theologically  in  sympathy  with 
Princeton  and  with  the  majority,  may  be  inferred  from  the  language 
of  the  venerable  Dr.  Woods,  of  Andover.  He  said  :  "  When  I  heard 
of  them,  I  was  grieved  and  astonished,  and  constrained  to  ask 
whether  there  is  any  thing  in  the  Bible,  or  in  the  Constitution  of 
the  Presbvterian  Church,  or  in  the  laws  of  any  Protestant  nation, 
Vol.  II.— 44 


518  HISTORY    OF    rPvESBYTEKIAM.S.M. 

Those  opposed  to  the  action  of  the  Assembly  insisted  that 
it  contravened  the  spirit  of  the  Constitution.  They  could 
discover  that  spirit  in  the  representations  made  to  Suffolk 
Presbytery  to  overcome  its  reluctance  to  unite  with  the 
Assembl)^  There  •was  an  express  understanding  that  no 
rigid  ecclesiasticism  was  to  be  introduced  or  predominate. 
The  adhesion  of  other  bodies  was  based  on  the  same  under- 
standing. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  can  be  no  question  that  a  strict 
construction  of  the  Constitution  was  inconsistent  with  the 
Plan  of  Union.  This  was  one  of  the  strong  points  main- 
tained by  the  majority  of  the  Assembly.  The  Constitution, 
as  such,  knew  nothing  of  committee-men  or  churches  con- 
stituted without  elders  or  session.  Their  introduction  had, 
to  a  certain  extent,  vitiated  the  practical  working  of  the 
Constitution.  It  had  made  the  Presbyterian  Church  a 
mongrel  body.  It  had  introduced  foreign  and  incongruous 
elements,  and  the  ascendency  of  these  elements  tended  to 
revolutionize  the  Church.  This  difficulty  was  not  easily  to 
be  overcome.  Indeed,  to  meet  it,  there  seemed  to  many  to 
be  no  alternative  short  of  a  counter-revolution,  and  the 
exscinding  measures  were  consequently  justified  on  tlie 
ground  of  necessity. 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  when  these  measures  were  adopted, 
and  synods,  churches  and  ministers  were  cut  off  from  the 
Church  without  legal  process  or  trial,  and  simply  by  a  sum- 

which  can  warrant  snch  proceedings."  He  thought  the  majority 
when  they  came  to  reflect  upon  their  course  would  regret  it;  "for 
they  had  neglected  the  New  Testament  rule,  which  requires  min- 
isters and  Christians  to  do  to  others  as  they  would  that  others 
should  do  to  them,  and  to  conduct  themselves  with  all  meekness  and 
gentleness,  forbearing  one  another,  and  doing  all  things  with  love." 
This  language  is  historically  significant  as  indicating  the  views  of 
man\  New  England  Congregationalists,  Dr.  Woods  was  the  inti- 
mate friend  of  the  professors  at  Princeton,  and  of  several  others 
who  were  prominent  leaders  in  urging  forward  the  excision. 


THE   GENERAL   ASSEMBLY   OF    1837.  519 

mary  act,  the  question  was  raised,  What  coustitutional  secu- 
rity for  the  future  could  the  Syuods  that  as  yet  were  spared 
continue  to  chiim  ?  Five  of  these — Albany,  New  Jersey, 
Michigan,  Cincinnati  and  Illinois — had  been  directed  by  the 
Assembly  to  take  like  special  order  on  the  subject  of  errors 
in  doctrine  and  church  order,  and  report  in  writing  to  the 
next  Assembly.  Why  might  not  these  be  subjected  to  the 
same  fate  as  the  four  that  already  had  been  cut  off?  If  the 
Assembly  might  continue  the  exercise  of  such  powers  as 
it  had  already  assumed,  if  it  might  declare  whole  Syuods  no 
longer  in  connection  with  the  Church ;  where  was  this  to 
end  ?  On  these  grounds  the  minority  regarded  the  policy 
now  initiated  as  unconstitutional  and  revolutionary.  Such 
was  the  relative  position,  and  such  the  views,  of  the  two 
parties  in  the  Assembly,  now  that  division  had  been  precipi- 
tated. Neither  could  surrender  its  convictions  or  recede 
from  its  claims. 

^  Those  who  asserted  the  unconstitutionality  of  the  exscinding 
acts  supported  their  views  by  reference  to  the  decision  of  Chief  Jus- 
tice Marshall  in  the  case  of  the  Yazoo  claims,  already  referred  to, 
and  also  by  the  opinions  of  such  men  as  Kon.  George  Wood,  who 
stood  for  years  at  the  head  of  the  New  York  bar,  Hon.  S.  M. 
Hopkins,  eminent  alike  as  a  lawyer  and  a  judge,  and  Chancellor 
Kent.  It  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  note  some  of  the  positions 
taken  by  Mr.  Wood,  representing  as  they  did  the  views  of  many. 

Mr.  Wood  saj's,  "I  see  nothing  in  the  Constitution  which  pro- 
hibits a  union  with  other  denominations  of  Christians  in  a  modified 
form."  It  might  be  said  the  Plan  of  Union  should  have  been  sub- 
mitted to  the  Presbyteries;  but  "long-established  usage  must  be 
considered  as  settling  that  question."  Yet  the  revision  of  the  Con- 
stitution in  1821  left  the  Plan  of  Union  untouched,  and  so  it  had 
lemained;  for  it  could  not  be  supposed  that  the  guardians  of  the 
Constitution  "could  have  sunk  into  a  profound  sleep  for  six-and- 
thirty  years."  "Upon  the  whole,  I  consider  these  proceedings  as 
inoperative  and  void,  and  I  think  they  will  be  so  declared,  if  any 
question  about  property  or  right  should  arise  out  of  them,  by  our 
legal  tribunals." 

Judge  Hopkins  held  that  the  argument  for  the  exscinding  mea- 


520  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

With  the  causes  which  conspired  to  bring  things  into 
the  shape  which  they  had  now  assumed,  and  which 
have  been  already  enumerated,  there  are  some  others 
which  deserve  our  notice.  It  had  for  some  time  been 
felt  that  the  General  Assembly  had  become  too  large 
and  unwieldy  for  wise  deliberation.  A  plan  for  a 
geographical  division  of  the  Church  so  as  to  form 
two  Assemblies  had,  some  years  previously,  been  agi- 
tated at  the  West.  It  had  been  overtured  to  the  As- 
sembly, but  by  them  rejected.  In  other  forms  the  pro- 
ject for  reducing  the  numbers  of  the  Assembly  was 
entertained.  In  1831  a  proposition  was  submitted,  and 
discussed  at  considerable  length,  that  the  opinion  of 


sures  proved  too  much.  "  If  the  votes  of  unconstitutional  delegates 
vitiate  the  proceedings  of  Synods  and  Presbyteries,  they  -would  on 
the  same  ground  vitiate  those  of  the  Assembly  itself.  I  believe 
that  it  has  even  been  alleged  that  such  delegates  have  had  seats  in 
the  Assembly  ;  and  in  this  case,  and  upon  this  ground,  the  Assembly 
itself  would  thenceforward  have  become  illegal,  possessing  no  higher 
rightful  existence  than  it  has  allowed  to  the  exscinded  judicatories." 

But  "the  Synods  of  Genesee  and  Geneva  were  constituent  parts 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church"  when  the  Constitution  was  revised. 
They  were  represented  in  the  Assembly  of  that  year.  This  it  was 
inferred  would  give  them  legal  status  in  the  Church. 

Judge  Kent  held  that  "  the  contracting  parties  [in  the  Plan  of 
1801]  were  competent  to  make  it  ,"  that  no  clause  in  the  Constitu- 
tion prohibited  the  General  Assembly  from  doing  what  they  did ;  that 
acquiescence  in  the  Plan  sanctioned  it,  on  the  principle.  Qui  facet, 
consc7itire  videtur ;  qui  potest  et  debet  vetare,  et  non  vetat,  Jubet ;  that  the 
abrogation  of  the  Plan  "could  not  aflFect  in  any  degree  the  rights 
and  privileges  of  the  churches,  Presbyteries,  and  Synods  formed, 
organized,  and  governed  more  or  less  under  that  compact;"  that 
"the  repeal  of  a  grant  or  the  recall  of  a  power  will  not  and  cannot 
inv.alidate  acts  done  and  rights  acquired  under  it,  provided  the  grant 
or  power  did  not  originate  in  fraud;"  that  nothing  "  could  be  more 
mischievous  than  the  principle  assumed  in  the  exscinding  resolu- 
tion, if  carried  out  to  its  practical  consequences;"  and  that  the  re- 
solution itself  "was  irregular,  illegal,  and  void." 


THE    GENERAL    ASSEMBLY    OF    1837.  521 

the  Presbyteries  should  be  taken  on  the  expediency  of 
changing  the  constitutional  plan  of  electing  commis- 
sioners to  the  General  Assembly, — transferring  the 
choice  of  commissioners  from  the  Presbj'teries  to  the 
kSynods.  The  proposition  was  rejected  by  the  majoritj'; 
but  the  large  number  of  commissionei's  was  felt  by  the 
party  then  in  the  minority  to  be  a  great  evil.^ 

The  proceedings   of   the   Assembly,  in  the  divided 

1  In  justice  to  many  of  those  who  urged  forward  the  exscinding 
measures,  it  should  be  stated  that  they  were  not  without  some  grave 
occasions  for  complaint.  The  refusal  of  the  Assembly  of  1836  to 
endorse  the  action  of  the  committee  of  the  previous  year,  by  whom 
the  Foreign  Missionary  Society  of  the  Pittsburg  Synod  had  been 
transferred  to  the  Assembly,  was  a  sore  provocation,  not  only  to 
those  directly  concerned,  but  to  many  who  saw  in  it  an  attempt,  as 
they  believed,  to  place  the  policy  of  the  Church  under  the  control 
of  voluntary  societies  which  no  organized  or  responsible  body  could 
call  to  account.  In  the  light  of  history,  it  seems  not  improbable 
that  a  fair  representation  of  the  entire  Church  might  have  given  a 
majority  in  favor  of  the  transfer.  But  a  full  representation,  espe- 
cially of  the  Western  churches,  could  not  be  secured  at  any  meeting 
held  at  Philadelphia.  The  Synod  of  Pittsburg  felt  deeply  aggrieved 
on  this  account.  In  their  minutes  (18-31)  will  be  found  statistics 
which  are  quite  significant.  Dividing  the  Church  by  a  line  bound- 
ing the  Synod  of  Philadelphia  on  the  south,  and  running  directly 
north  of  its  western  extremity,  it  was  found  that  the  twenty-seven 
Presbyteries  of  the  East  and  North  had  in  the  Assembly  of  1821 
twenty-eight  elders,  while  the  remaining  thirty-five  had  but  three. 
In  1825  the  former  had  thirty-eight  Presbyteries  and  thirty-five 
elders,  the  latter  forty-three  Presbyteries  and  one  elder.  In  1828 
the  first  had  forty  Presbyteries  and  thirty-four  elders,  the  latter 
fifty  Presbyteries  and  four  elders.  In  1831  the  first  had  forty-four 
Presbyteries  and  fifty-one  elders,  the  latter  sixty  Presbyteries  and 
fifteen  elders. 

It  will  readily  be  perceived  that  where  from  thirty  to  forty  mem- 
bers of  the  Assembly  were  drawn  annually  from  that  portion  of  the 
Church  most  in  sympathy  with  voluntary  societies,  while  the  other 
portion  was  but  half  represented,  the  proceedings  of  the  majority 
would  naturally  be  regarded  in  many  cases  as  oppressive,  and  in 
Bome  as  intolerable. 

44* 


622  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

State  of  parties,  led  many  good  men  to  fear  and  question 
the  character  of  the  influence  exerted  by  it  upon  the 
Church  at  hirge.  Quite  a  number,  as  a  prudential  mea- 
sure alone,  leaned  toward  a  division. 

But  at  this  juncture  the  subject  of  slavery  had  as- 
sumed an  unprecedented  importance.  The  agitation  of 
it  had  not,  indeed,  originated  with  the  North.  Several 
of  the  Ohio  ministers  had  removed  from  Carolina  to 
that  State  on  account  of  slavery;  and  the  most  earnest 
discussions  of  the  matter  for  several  years  had  been 
south  of  Mason  and  Dixon's  line. 

In  Kentucky  especially,  a  decided  anti-slavery  senti- 
ment had  from  an  early  period  manifested  itself  in  con- 
nection with  the  Presbj^terian  Church.  "  Father"  Rice, 
while  a  member  of  the  convention  that  framed  the  State 
Constitution,  endeavored  to  secui-e  the  insertion  of  some 
provision  for  the  ultimate  emancipation  of  slaves,  and, 
in  a  pamphlet  on  the  subject  which  issued  from  his  pen 
— embodying  his  sjieech  in  the  convention — in  1792. 
undertook  to  answer  objections,  especially  those  drawn 
from  the  supposed  sanction  of  the  Scriptures  and  the 
silence  of  the  apostles.  In  1794  the  Presbytery  of 
Transylvania  passed  resolutions  to  the  effect  that  slaves 
should  be  taught  to  read  the  ScrijDtures  and  be  prepared 
for  freedom.  In  1796  their  views  on  the  general  subject 
*  were  again  freely  expressed.  In  the  following  years 
attention  was  still  largely  directed  to  questions  bearing 
upon  the  character  of  slavery;  and  in  1800  the  West 
Lexington  Presbytery,  in  their  letter  to  the  Synod  of 
Yirginia,  sj)eak  of  slavery  as  "a  subject  likely  to  occa- 
sion much  trouble  and  division  in  the  churches  in  this 
country."  In  1823  the  claims  of  the  Colonization  So- 
ciety were  favorably  entertained,  and  in  1825  the  Synod 
directed  ministers  to  pay  more  attention  to  the  religious 
instruction  of  slaves. 

At  this  latter  period  the  question  of  slavery  attracted 


THE    GENERAL    ASSE.AIBLY    OF    1837.  523 

more  attention  at  the  South  than  at  the  North.  In 
1826,  of  the  one  hundred  and  one  anti-slavery  societies 
in  the  country,  less  than  one-fourth  were  in  the  Northern 
States.  There  were  forty-one  in  North  Carolina,  twenty- 
three  in  Tennessee,  six  in  Kentucky,  and  many  in  Vir- 
ginia. More  than  forty  of  these  organizations  had  been 
established  at  the  South  within  the  two  preceding  years. ^ 

In  1833  the  Synod  of  Kentucky  discussed  for  two  days, 
with  much  spirit,  an  overture  which  declared  slavery, 
as  existing  within  its  bounds,  a  great  moral  evil  and 
inconsistent  Avith  the  Avord  of  God.  The  Synod  were 
much  divided  upon  the  question,  and  the  whole  subject 
was  indefinitely  postponed ;  and,  when  it  was  postponed, 
E.  J.  Breckinridge  left  the  house,  sajnng,  "  Since  God 
has  forsaken  the  Synod  of  Kentucky,  Robert  J  Breck- 
inridge will  forsake  it  too."^  In  the  following  year  it 
was  again  introduced.  By  an  overwhelming  majority 
of  fifty-six  to  eight,  a  committee  of  ten  w^as  appointed 
to  prepare  a  plan  for  the  instruction  and  future  eman- 
cipation of  slaves.  Of  this  committee,  Judge  Green, 
President  Young,  Drs.  Cunningham,  Stuart,  Hall,  and 
TV.  L.  Breckinridge  w^ere  members.  The  proposed  plan 
was  published  by  the  committee  in  the  following  year, 
and  took  strong  ground  in  favor  of  gradual  emanci- 
pation. "  It  fearlessly  recounted  the  evils  of  slavery  : 
its  degrading  influence;  its  dooming  thousands  to  help- 
less ignorance ;  its  depriving  them,  in  a  great  measure, 
of  the  privileges  of  the  gospel;  its  licensing  cruelty; 
its  producing  licentiousness  among  the  slaves;  its  de- 
moralizing effect  upon  whites  as  well  as  blacks;  and  its 
drawing  down  the  vengeance  of  Heaven."' 

No  formal  action  upon  the  plan  w^as  taken  by  the 

1  Christian  Advocate,  1826,  p.  93. 
^  Testimony  of  a  member  of  Synod. 
^  Davidson's  Kentucky,  p.  339. 


524  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

Synod.  The  propositions  of  the  committee  were  in 
advance  of  public  sentiment.  In  connection  with  the 
exaspei-ation  produced  by  "Northern  aggressions," 
loading  the  mails  with  publications  styled  "inflam- 
matory," a  reaction  M^as  inevitable.  The  prospect  of 
emancipation  became  less  hopeful.  Slave  laws  were 
made  more  stringent.  The  religious  meetings  of  the 
blacks  were  broken  up  or  interrupted,  and  their  Sab- 
bath-schools disj^ersed.^ 

But  already  the  agitation  had  commenced  at  the 
North.  Here,  too,  societies  were  formed,  less  discreet 
perhaps  than  they  should  have  been.  For  several  suc- 
cessive years  the  subject  had  been  brought  before  the 
Assembly,  and  not  a  little  warmth  of  feeling  had  been 
elicited  by  the  discussions.  Although  the  strong  anti- 
slavery  feeling  of  the  Northern  members  was  not  limited 
to  either  party,  it  was  most  deeply  shared  by  those  who 
were  classed  as  hostile  to  a  rigid  ecclesiastical  sj^stem 
and  in  favor  of  voluntary  boards.  This  at  least  was  the 
full  belief  of  many  of  the  leading  minds  in  the  South- 
ern churches,  as  manifested  in  word  and  act.  From  that 
direction  the  demand  was  loud  for  division,  especially 
after  the  discussions  in  the  Assembly  of  1836.^     A  cor- 

1  In  1837  the  question  of  a  convention  to  amend  the  Constitution 
so  as  to  provide  for  gradual  emnncipation,  before  the  people,  was 
defeated,  in  consequence  of  excitement  produced  by  abolition  pub- 
lications scattered  through  the  State,  as  was  supposed  by  J.  G. 
Birney,  a  Kentuckian  then  residing  in  New  York  and  connected 
with  an  abolition  paper. — F. 

^  The  subject  of  slavery  was  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  As- 
sembly of  1836  by  the  report  of  a  committee — Drs.  Miller,  Beman, 
and  Hays,  and  Rev.  Messrs.  James  H.  Dickey  and  J.  Witherspoon — 
appointed  for  the  purpose  by  the  Assembly  of  the  preceding  year 
on  an  overture  based  on  memorials  and  petitions  from  individuals 
and  two  Presbyteries.  The  majority  report  was  brief,  and,  in  sub- 
stance, declined  any  action  on  the  subject.  The  minority  report,  by 
Mr.  Dickey,  was  quite  extended,  and  proposed  certain  resolutions 


THE    GENERAL    ASSEMBLY    OE    1837.  525 

respondent  of  the  "  Southei'n  Eeligioiis  Telegraph,"  a 
few  days  after  the  adjournment  of  the  body, — of  which 
he  had  been  a  member, — wrote,  "I  hope  that  such  an- 
other Assembly  will  never  meet  but  once  again,  and 
then  only  with  full  and  delegated  powers  amicabl}'  to 
separate."  The  comment  of  the  editor  was,  "A  crisis 
has  come  :  if  there  can  be  no  compromise,  division  must 
be  tried."  The  Presbytery  of  Concord,  N.C.,  said, 
''Rather  than  surrender  the  truth,  or  perpetuate  the 
present  distracting  agitation,  we  shall  feel  bound  to 
submit  to  a  division  of  the  Church."  The  Presbytery  , 
of  South  Carolina  resolved,  "  The  parties  ought  to  sepa- 
rate." The  Synod  of  Virginia  declared,  "One  thing 
which  presses  with  peculiar  force  on  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  the  South  is  the  spirit  of  abolition"  It  de- 
clared that  the  attempt  then  making  on  the  subject 
was  "  changing  the  Constitution  of  our  Church." 

By  Charleston  Union  Presbytery  the  position  was 
taken  (November,  1836),  and  it  was  subsequently  en- 
dorsed in  substance  by  the  Synod,  "  that  as  the  relation 
of  master  and  slave  is  a  civil  institution,  it  is  one  on 

strongly  opposed  to  slavery.  Pending  the  earnest  discussion  which 
ensued,  a  substitute  was  oflFered  which,  on  the  ground  that  slavery 
was  recognized  in  the  Old  and  New  Testament,  proposed  a  resolution 
to  the  elFect  that  "the  Assembly  have  no  authority  to  assume  or  ex- 
ercise jurisdiction  in  regard  to  the  existence  of  slavery."  This  was 
superseded — after  some  discussion — by  a  motion  of  indefinite  post- 
ponement, based  on  the  fact  that  no  church  judicatory  had  any 
right  by  its  own  authority  to  make  laws  to  bind  the  conscience,  and 
on  the  fact  that  the  limited  time  of  the  Assembly  would  not  allow 
of  the  deliberation  necessary  to  a  judicious  decision.  The  motion 
for  postponement  was  by  Dr.  Hays,  of  Virginia,  and  was  carried  by 
one  hundred  and  fifty-six  yeas  to  eighty-seven  nays.  Twenty-eight 
members  protested  against  the  decision. 

In  the  course  of  the  convention-discussions  of  1837,  R.  J.  Breck- 
inridge, referring  to  slavery,  remarked  that  it  was  the  opinion  of 
many  brethren  that  the  testimony  of  1818  went  too  far. 


526  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

which  the  Church  has  no  power  to  legislate."^  As  a 
general  thing,  the  Southern  churches  gave  their  pre- 
ference to  Ecclesiastical  Boards,  and  in  the  case  of  Mr. 
Barnes  a  respectable  minority  might  be  regarded  as  in 
sympathy  with  him.  But  on  the  subject  of  slavery 
there  was  but  one  sentiment.  The  project  was  subse- 
quently agitated,  especially  in  the  South  Carolina 
Sj'nod,  of  forming  an  independent  Southern  General 
Assembly  and  withdrawing  altogether  from  connection 
with  the  North.  This  was  strenuously  and  successfully 
opposed  by  thovse  who  sympathized  with  Ecclesiastical 
Boards  and  the  prosecution  against  Dr.  Beecher  and 
Mr.  Barnes.  On  the  subject  of  slavery  they  felt  that 
the  party  represented  by  the  memorialists  might  be 
trusted.  It  was  not  till  the  obnoxious  Synods  were 
exscinded  in  1837  that  the  South  became  really  divided 
within  itself  It  was  then  seen  that  some  who  were 
most  strenuous  and  outspoken  in  their  condemnation  of  the 
exscinding  acts  were  foremost  in  repudiating  and  condemn- 
ing the  anti-slavery  agitation.  On  the  other  hand  the  im- 
portance of  anti-slavery  manifestos  was,  in  the  view  of  the 
memorialists  and  their  friends,  entirely  overshadowed  by  that 
of  the  question  of  the  doctrinal  soundness  of  the  Church. 
Toward  the  close  of  the  sessions  of  the  convention 
(1837),  Dr.  Wilson,  of  Cincinnati,  was  asked  if  he  was 
not  going  to  bring  up  the  subject  of  slavery.  He  hesi- 
tated in  reply.  Something  of  the  kind,  he  was  told, 
was  expected  of  him  from  his  previous  declarations 
and  expressed  opinions.  "  1  believe,"  he  answered, 
"that  I  shall  let  the  Southern  brethren  manage  their 
own  concerns  in  their  own  way:  they  will  probably 
take  care  of  them  the  best."*     The  most  zealous  anti- 

1  The  Late  Cliarleston  Union  Presbytery.  The  Occasion  of  its  Di- 
vision fairly  stated,  and  the  Action  of  the  Presbytery  fully  justified. 
By  the  Rev.  Thomas  Smyth. 

■^  Foote's  Sketches  of  Virginia,  Second  Series,  520. 


THE    GENERAL   ASSEMBLY    OF    1837,  527 

slavery  men  of  the  North  felt,  like  Dr.  Wilson,  that  iu 
order  to  secure  the  triumph  of  the  memorialists  a  com- 
promise, understood  if  not  expressed,  must  be  made. 
It  was  not  an  agreeable  thing,  indeed,  but  it  had  become 
a  necessity".  It  is  idle,  perhaps,  to  speculate  upon  the 
results  that  would  have  followed  the  attempt  to  intro- 
duce into  the  memorial  the  views  of  Northern  members 
of  the  convention.  Undoubtedly  it  would  have  rent 
the  convention  in  sunder,  and  not  improbably  might 
have  led  to  the  organization  of  a  Southern  Assembly. 
But  in  such  a  case  the  memorialists  of  the  North  would 
have  lost  Southern  sympath}'-  and  the  Southern  alliance. 
They  would,  doubtless,  have  been  left  in  a  hopeless  mi- 
nority, and  have  been  compelled  to  withdraw  and 
organize  by  themselves.  The  terms  of  their  final 
triumph  were  defined  by  the  necessity  of  the  case.  The 
South  held  in  its  hands  the  casting  vote.  To  secure 
this,  it  was  clearly  understood  that  the  slavery-  question 
was  no  longer  to  be  allowed  to  disturb  the  Assembl}". 
In  justice,  however,  to  a  very  large  portion  of  the  Church 
at  the  North,  it  should  be  said  that,  repelled  by  the  fanati- 
cal zeal  of  "  abolitionisTn,"  and  the  violent  uttei-ances  of  its 
representatives,  they  discountenanced  what  they  regarded  as 
a  pernicious  agitation  in  the  ecclesiastical  as  well  as  civil 
sphere/ 

1  The  Pastoral  and  the  Circular  Letter  of  the  Assembly  of  1837 
are  mainly  devoted  to  a  vindication  of  the  exscinding  acts.  It  is 
admitted  that  the  "Plan  of  Union"  was  brought  into  operation  by 
some  of  the  wisest  and  best  men  the  Presbyterian  Church  lias  ever 
known.  Yet  it  is  pronounced  "most  unnatural,"  unconstitutional, 
and  "deeply  injurious."  It  is  declared  that  when  the  Assembly 
met  it  was  "manifest  that  a  division  of  the  Church  was  the  most 
desirable  object  that  could  be  effected;"  that  till  "the  parties  are 
separated  and  formed  into  difiFerent  denominations,"  there  was  no 
ground  to  hope  that  contention  would  cease. 

Yet  "  narrow  parly  zeal"  was  disclaimed,  and  it  was  confessed  "a 


528  IlIETORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

The  Assembly  of  1838  met  in  tlie  Seventh  Presby- 
terian Church  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  on  the  17th 
of  May.  The  first  question  before  it  was  the  manner 
in  which  it  should  be  constituted.  Were  the  exscinding 
acts  of  the  previous  year,  which  denied  the  right  of 
representation  to  nearly  thirty  Presbyteries,  to  be  con- 
sidered constitutional  and  valid?  "Was  the  roll  to  be 
made  up  in  accordance  with  these  acts  ?  Each  party,  of 
course,  was  tenacious  of  its  own  views,  but  a  practical 
answer  was  demanded,  and  could  no  longer  be  deferred. 

The  moderator,  at  the  close  of  the  preliminary  exei*- 
cises,  called  upon  the  permanent  clerk  to  report  the  roll. 
Rev.  Dr.  William  Patton,  of  the  Third  Presbytery  of  New 
York,  rose  and  asked  leave  to  offer  certain  resolutions  which 
he  held  in  his  hand.  The  moderator  declared  the  request 
as  out  of  order  at  this  time,  and  Dr.  Patton  appealed  from 
the  decision.  The  appeal  was  declared  out  of  order.  Dr. 
Patton  stated  that  the  resolutions  related  to  the  formation 
of  the  roll,  and  began  to  read  them,  but  was  called  to  order, 
and  took  his  seat. 

The   permanent    clerk,   from   the    standing    Committee 

painful  duty"  to  cut  oflF  the  Synods.  The  spirit  of  the  Assembly  is 
manifest  in  its  denunciation  of  the  "ever  restless  spirit  of  radicalism 
manifest  both  in  the  Church  and  the  State."  This  fanaticism  had 
been  displayed  in  connection  with  "  revivals  of  religion,  temperance, 
and  the  rights  of  man." 

These  revivals  had  prevailed  largely  in  the  region  of  the  obnoxious 
Synods,  and  the  danger  of  their  rapidly-growing  influence  impelled 
to  prompt  action  on  the  part  of  the  majority.  They  confessed  that 
if  action  was  longer  delayed  their  case  was  hopeless.  The  "fanati- 
cism" in  connection  with  the  temperance  cause  which  the  Assembly 
denounced  was  scarcely  worthy  of  mention,  except  as  an  introduction 
to  fanaticism  concerning  "tlie  rights  of  man."  By  a  vote  of  ninety- 
tliree  to  twenty-eight,  the  subject  of  slavery,  which  had  again  been 
brought  up,  was  laid  upon  the  table.  This  disposed  of  several  over- 
tures, and  was  not  without  effect  in  securing  the  sympathies  of  tho 
Southern  churches- 


THE    GENERAL    ASSEMBLY    OF    1838.  529 

of  Commissions,  reported  the  roll.  It  Avas  made  out  in 
accordance  with  the  exscinding  acts  of  the  last  As- 
sembly. The  moderator  then  rose,  and  stated  that  if 
there  were  any  commissioners  present  from  the  Pres- 
bj'teries  belonging  to  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the 
United  States  of  America,  whose  names  had  not  been 
enrolled,  then  was  the  time  for  presenting  their  com- 
missions. 

Dr.  Erskine  Mason,  of  the  Third  Presbj'tery  of  New 
York,  rose  to  offer  a  resolution  "to  complete  the  roll" 
by  adding  the  names  of  certain  commissioners  who  had 
offered  their  commissions  to  the  clerks,  which  the  latter 
had  refused  to  receive.  The  moderator  inquired  if  they 
were  from  Presbyteries  belonging  to  the  Assembly  at 
the  close  of  the  sessions  of  last  yeai*.  Dr.  Mason  replied 
that  they  were  from  Presbyteries  belonging  to  the 
Synods  of  Utica,  Geneva,  Genesee,  and  the  Western 
Reserve.  The  moderator  stated  the  motion  to  be  out 
of  order  at  this  time.  Dr.  Mason  resijectfully  appealed 
from  the  decision,  and  the  moderator  declared  the  ap- 
peal out  of  order,  repeating  at  the  same  time  his  call 
for  commissions  from  Presbyteries  in  connection  with 
the  Assembly. 

The  Rev.  Miles  P.  Squier,  a  member  of  the  Presbytery 
of  Geneva,  then  rose,  and  stated  that  he  had  a  commis- 
sion from  the  Presbytery  of  Geneva  which  had  been 
presented  to  the  clerks,  who  refused  to  receive  it,  and 
that  he  now  offered  it  to  the  Assemblj^  and  claimed  his 
right  to  his  seat.  The  moderator  inquired  if  the  Pres- 
bytery of  Geneva  Avas  within  the  bounds  of  the  Synod 
of  Geneva.  Mr.  Squier  answered  that  it  w^as.  "Then 
we  do  not  know  you,  sir,"  replied  the  moderator,  and 
declared  the  application  out  of  order. 

Upon  this  Mr.  John  P.  Cleaveland  of  the  Prcsbj-tery 
of  Detroit,  rose,  and,  amid  much  interruption  and  many 
calls  to  order,  proceeded  to  read  a  paper  which  he  held 

Vol..  II.— 45 


530  HISTORY    OF    PRKSBYXKUIANISM. 

in  his  hand.  The  contents  of  it  were,  substantially,  that 
whereas  the  rights  of  certain  commissioners  have  been 
violated  in  their  being  refused  their  seats  as  members 
of  the  General  Assembly,  and  the  moderator  has  refused 
to  do  his  duty,  it  therefore  becomes  necessary  to  or- 
ganize this  General  Assembly  at  this  time  and  in  this 
place  in  the  most  prompt  manner,  and  with  the  least 
interruption  practicable.  To  this  they  had  been  ad- 
vised by  counsel  learned  in  the  law,  as  a  measure 
necessary  to  retain  their  rights  in  the  Presbyterian 
Church. 

He  then  moved  that  Dr.  Beman,  moderator  of  a  pre- 
vious Assembly,  take  the  chair  till  another  moderator 
should  be  chosen.  The  motion  w^as  carried  by  "a  very 
loud  aye.'"  Dr.  Beman  took  his  station  in  the  aisle  of 
the  church,  and  a  motion  was  made  that  E.  Mason  and 
E.  W.  Gilbert  be  the  clerks,  which  was  agreed  to.  Dr. 
S.  Fisher  was  in  like  manner  elected  moderator.  The 
questions  were  moved  and  taken  both  affirmatively  and 
negatively,  with  but  few  negative  voices.  It  was  then 
moved  that  the  Assembly,  as  thus  constituted,  adjourn 
to  the  First  Presbyterian  Church.  The  motion  was 
carried. 

The  members  of  the  body  then  withdrew  from  the 
house.  It  was  announced  in  a  loud  voice  at  the  doors 
and  in  the  body  of  the  house  that  the  Assembly  had 
adjourned  to  the  First  Presbyterian  (Mr.  Barnes's) 
Church.  In  the  judgment  of  those  who  had  good  op- 
portunities of  information,  if  the  commissioners  from 
the  four  exscinded  Synods  had  voted  in  the  Assembly 
previous  to  the  adjournment,  there  would  have  been  a 
majoritj^  of  all  the  commissioners  in  favor  of  Dr.  Ma- 
son's motion  and  opposed  to  the  exscinding  acts.  Dr. 
Fisher  estimated  the  relative  strength  of  the  two  parties 
in  such  a  case  as  one  hundred  and  forty  to  one  hundred 
and  thirty-six. 


THE    GENERAL    ASSEMBLY    OF    1838.  531 

The  appeal  from  the  moderator's  decision  was  based  on 
the  unconstitutionality  and  injustice  of  the  exscinding  acts, 
and  the  right  of  the  representatives  of  the  exscinded  Pres- 
byteries to  a  seat  on  the  floor  of  the  Assembly.  Here  was 
the  distinct  issue.^ 

^  A  parallel  to  the  manner  in  which  the  (N.  S.)  General  Assembly 
of  1838  was  organized  was  sought  in  the  proceedings  of  the  Twenty- 
Sixth  Congress,  which  met  Dec.  2,  1839.  According  to  established 
usage,  the  clerk  of  the  House  of  Representatives  takes  the  chair  till 
the  organization  of  the  body  is  completed.  In  accordance  with  this 
usage,  the  clerk  commenced  calling  the  roll,  and  proceeded  with  the 
States  till  he  came  to  New  Jersey,  which  he  proposed  to  omit,  as  the 
seats  of  its  members  were  contested,  and  by  passing  by  whom  the 
clerk's  party  would  be  left  in  the  majority  and  would  hold  the  balance 
of  power  in  the  organization.  Here  business  came  to  a  stand.  The 
clerk  would  proceed  only  in  his  own  way.  On  the  fourth  day  John 
Q.  Adams  arose  and  stated  the  circumstances  of  the  House.  The 
action  of  the  clerk  barred  all  progress,  and  placed  the  House  under 
his  control.  "But,"  said  he,  "wo  must  organize."  He  referred  to 
the  report  given  by  Mr.  Jefi'erson  of  what  was  done  by  the  Virginia 
Legislature  when  dissolved  by  Lord  Dunmore.  They  adjourned  to  a 
tavern,  constituted  themselves  a  convention,  and  acted  as  the  Legis- 
lature of  the  State  or  Colony.  Thus,  in  another  place  than  that  from 
which  they  had  been  excluded,  they  formed  themselves  into  a  con- 
vention and  acted  in  the  name  of  the  State.  "I  call  upon  you  in 
the  name  of  the  people  to  organize.  I  call  upon  the  House  to  set 
aside  entirely  his  [the  clerk's]  decisions  and  act  for  themselves.  I 
have  no  doubt  of  their  power  to  do  it."  He  proposed  that  the  House 
choose  itself  a  temporary'  clerk.  He  was  asked  by  members,  "How 
shall  the  question  be  put?"  Raising  his  voice  above  the  tumult,  he 
replied,  "I  intend  to  put  the  question  myself.'"  The  result  was 
tliat  the  House  was  organized. 


532  HiSTOur  of  i'kesbyxerianism. 


CHAPTEE  XLL 

RESULTS    OF    THE    DIVISION. 

The  course  pursued  by  those  who  sympathized  with 
the  exscinded  Synods  in  organizing  the  Assembl}'"  of 
1838  had  been  a  subject  of  careful  deliberation.  Shortly 
after  the  adjournment  of  the  Assembly  of  the  previous 
year  a  convention  had  been  called  to  meet  at  Auburn 
(Aug.  17,  1837).  It  was  numerously  attended.  Xearly 
one  hundred  and  seventy  persons,  most  of  them  com- 
missioned as  clerical  or  lay  delegates  from  more  than 
thirty  Presbyteries,  met  to  consider  the  circumstances 
of  the  Church  and  the  policy  to  be  adopted.  Drs. 
Eichards,  Halsey,  Hill^-er,  McAuley,  Beecher,  Cox,  and 
others,  were  present.  The  convention  were  unanimous 
in  declai'ing  the  exscinding  acts  unconstitutional,  and 
in  recommending  the  Synods  and  Presbyteries  to  retain 
their  present  organization.  A  committee  of  corre- 
spondence was  appointed  to  confer  on  the  state  of  the 
Church,  and  take  measures  to  secure  the  objects  for 
which  the  convention  had  been  called. 

Other  committees  were  appointed, — one  to  draw  up 
a  statement  of  the  reasons  for  the  action  of  the  con- 
vention, one  to  draft  a  letter  to  the  judicatories  and 
ministers  of  tlie  Church  in  regard  to  its  present  un- 
happy condition,  one  on  the  rights  of  membership  in 
the  Presbj'torian  Church  and  the  manner  in  which 
they  are  guaranteed  or  forfeited,  one  on  a  statement 
of  facts  in  regard  to  the  formation  and  character  of 
the  churches  Avithin  the  bounds  of  the  Synods  declared 
to  be  exscinded,  and  one  on  a  summary  of  doctrine  as 
believed  and  maintained  by  this  portion  of  the  Church. 


r::sults  of  tiii;  division.  533 

The  report  of  this  last  committee  exhibits  the  state 
of  doctrinal  sentiment  which  prevailed  among  the 
churches  against  whom  charges  of  grievous  departures 
from  the  faith  were  most  rife.  It  presents  in  itself  the 
evidence  upon  which  the  charges  were  denied, — distin- 
guishing and  vindicating  the  true  doctrine  from  its 
correspondent  error,  and,  with  a  firm  conviction  of  its 
scriptural  consistency  and  sound  orthodoxy,  it  was 
given  to  the  world. 

The  recommendations  of  the  convention  to  the 
Presbyteries  and  Synods  were  generally  complied 
with.  Only  a  small  number  of  churches  withdrew  from 
tlieir  connection  with  them  in  consequence  of  the 
exscinding  acts.^  The  very  sharpness  and  summary 
severity  of  the  measures  adopted  by  the  last  Assembly 
served  but  the  moi*e  effectually  to  bind  together  those 
who  felt  it  a  duty  to  resist  them.  They  expressed  appre- 
lieusion  that,  if  no  decided  steps  were  taken  to  arrest 
the  progress  of  unconstitutional  measures,  the  whole 
of  the  obnoxious  portion  of  the  Church  would  be  cut 
off  in  detail,  and  thus  be  denied  not  only  their  title  to 
any  share  in  the  funds  and  institutions  of  the  Church, 
to  which  they  had  largely  contributed,  but  all  their 
rights  as  members  of  the  common  body. 

To  guard  against  this  result,  counsel  was  taken  as  to 
the  course  to  be  pursued.  It  was  resolved  that  the 
commissions  of  the  delegates  from  the  Synods  declared 
to  be  exscinded  should  be  offered  immediately  after  the 
opening  of  the  next  Assembly,  and  in  case  of  their  re- 
fusal, or  the  refusal  of  the  moderator  to  put  the  question, 
the  Assembly  should  be  constituted  forthwith  by  the 
choice  of  a  new  moderator. 

The  organization  Avas  effected  as  narrated  above,  and 

1  "As  far  !xs  Tve  know,  not  a  single  Presbytery  within  the  four 
Synods  has  consented  to  withdraw  from  their  Congregational 
churches." — Princeton  Review,  1838. 


634  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

the  Assembly  adjourned  to  meet  in  the  lecture-room  of 
the  First  Presbyterian  Church.  It  observed  the  order 
and  the  forms  of  previous  Assemblies,  even  to  the  calling 
for  the  reports  of  committees  that  did  not  appear,  and 
the  election  of  trustees  of  the  seminary  at  Princeton. 
The  obnoxious  acts  of  the  previous  Assembly  were 
repealed.  The  resolutions  discountenancing  the  ope- 
rations of  the  American  Education  Society  and  the 
Home  Missionary  Society  were  rescinded,  and  these  in- 
stitutions were  coi'dially  commended  to  the  continued 
confidence  and  increasing  patronage  of  the  churches. 
The  action  by  which  the  four  Synods  were  declared 
to  be  out  of  the  ecclesiastical  connection  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church,  and  the  Third  Presb3'tery  of  Phila- 
delphia to  be  dissolved,  was  pronounced  "  utterly  at 
variance  with  the  Constitution  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  the  United  States  of  America,  and  therefore 
inoperative  and  void."'^  The  rules  of  the  previous  As- 
sembly excluding  commissioners  from  newlj'-formed 
Presbyteries  till  after  the  organization  of  the  Assembly, 
"not  having  been  submitted  to  the  Presbyteries,  and 
being  contrary  to  the  established  usage,"  were  declared 
"not  binding  on  this  or  any  future  Assembly."  The 
inherent  right  of  Presbyteries  to  expound  and  apply 
constitutional  rules  touching  the  qualifications  of  their 
fown  members  was  asserted,  and  the  action  of  the  last 


1  Dr.  Green  had  said,  in  the  columns  of  the  "Christian  Advocate," 
in  1831,  "The  General  Assembly  is  as  much  the  creature  of  the  Con- 
stitution as  the  church  session,  and  has  no  better  claim  than  the 
church  session  to  go  beyond  its  appropriate  powers  and  duties." 
A  few  months  after,  lie  says,  again,  "The  proceedings  of  the  General 
Assembly  are  not  reviewed  by  a  higher  court;  but  that  body  has  no 
more  right  or  power  to  violate  the  Constitution  than  any  church 
session  in  the  Presbyterian  community :  and,  when  such  violation 
takes  place,  the  violating  act  is  a  nullity."  The  last  was  said  to 
invalidate  the  Assembly's  proceedings  in  the  case  of  Mr.  Barnes. 


RESULTS    OF    THK    lUVISIUN.  535 

Assembly  making  exiimiiiatiou  of  applicants  from  other 
Presbj'teries  imperative,  was  pronounced  null  and  void. 

No  steps  were  taken  with  reference  to  any  rearrange- 
ment of  Presbyteries  and  Synods,  except  such  as  the 
circumstances  rendered  absolutely  necessary.  The  rela- 
tions of  the  Third  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia,  declared 
by  the  previous  Assembly  to  be  dissolved,  were  such, 
however,  as  to  require  some  change  by  which  it  might 
be  brought  into  synodical  connection.  A  new  Synod, 
therefoi-e,  entitled  the  Synod  of  Pennsylvania,  was 
erected,  embracing  the  ministers  and  congregations  of 
the  Presbyteries  of  Wilmington,  Lewes,  Philadelphia 
Second,  Philadelphia  Third,  Carlisle,  Huntingdon,  and 
Northumberland.^  In  view,  moreover,  of  the  peculiar 
condition  of  the  Church  and  the  necessity  of  a  vindi- 
cation of  its  legal  rights,  a  committee  of  twelve  was 
appointed  with  power  to  advise  and  direct  in  respect 
to  any  legal  questions  and  pecuniary  interests  that 
might  require  attention  during  the  ensuing  year. 

Still,  no  disposition  Avas  evinced  to  obtain  the  ex- 
clusive control  of  the  funds  and  institutions  of  the 
Church.  Propositions  were  made  to  the  other  Assem- 
bly looking  toward  a  reunion;  but  the  answer  given, 
implied  the  endorsement  as  constitutional  of  the  ex- 
scinding acts,  and  could  not  be  entertained.  Yet  the 
Assembly  placed  it  upon  their  records  as  unanimously 
I'csolved,  ''  that  this  body  are  willing  to  agree  to  any 
reasonable  measures  tending  to  an  amicable  adjustment 
of  the  difficulties  existing  in  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
and  will  receive  and  respectfully  consider  any  propo- 
sitions which  may  be  made  for  that  purpose." 

Unless  the  Assembly  was  prepared  to  relinquish  all 
right  to  its  funds  and  property,  nothing  now  remained 
but  to  bring  the  question  to  a  legal  adjustment.     The 

»  Digest,  p.  149. 


536  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

most  appropriate  method  of  doing  tbis  was  to  test  the 
riglits  of  those  whom  it  had  elected  as  trustees  to  a  seat 
in  the  Board.  To  have  consented  to  throw  themselves 
upon  the  generosity  of  the  other  Assembly,  or  the  offers 
made  by  them,  of  giving  back  a  fair  proportion  of  the 
funds,  would  have  been  to  forego  much  to  which  the 
Assembly  felt  that  they  had  a  rightful  claim,  and  to 
sink  their  own  character,  as  an  Assembly  still  entitled 
to  the  benefits  of  the  Act  of  Incorporation  of  1799, 
into  that  of  a  body  which  could  have  no  legal  recogni- 
tion whatever. 

In  tliese  circumstances,  the  case  was  brought  in  the 
first  instance  before  the  Supreme  Court  for  the  Eastei'n 
District  of  Pennsylvania.  The  trial  commenced  before 
Judge  Rogers  at  Nid  Prius  and  a  special  jury,  March  4, 
1839,  and  occupied  twenty  days.  Both  sides  were  heard  at 
length,  and  the  history  of  the  facts  of  the  case  was  embodied 
in  the  charge  to  the  jury.  The  Plan  of  Union  was  elabo- 
rately vindicated  as  not  only  constitutional  and  a  measure 
which  the  Assembly  had  power  to  make,  but  one  "  well 
calculated  to  promote  the  best  interests  of  religion."  The 
exscinding  acts  were  pronounced  "a  judicial  proceeding  to 
all  intents  and  purposes,"  and  as  such  "  not  only  contrary 
to  the  eternal  principles  of  justice,  the  principles  of  the 
common  law,  but  at  variance  with  the  Constitution  of  the 
Church."  The  juiy  brought  in  their  verdict  "that  they 
find  the  defendants  guilty." 

The  latter  applied  to  the  Supreme  Court  in  Banc  for  a 
new  trial,  March  29,  1839.  The  exceptions  to  the  rulings 
and  charge  of  Judge  Rogers  were  ably  argued.  On  May 
8,  Chief  Justice  Gibson  delivered  the  opinion  of  the  court, 
granting  a  new  trial,  and  presenting  views  iu  conflict  with 
those  of  Judge  Rogers.  As  to  the  exscinding  acts,  he 
denied  that  they  were  to  be  regarded  in  the  light  of  a 
judicial  process.     The  measure  was  "  a  legislative  act."    As 


UESULTS   OF    THE    DIVISION.  537 

such  he  said,  "  it  may  have  been  a  hard  one,  though  cer- 
tainly constitutional  and  strictly  just. 

Nor  was  there  anything  in  the  course  pursued  by  the 
moderator  of  the  "  Old  School"  Assembly  which  warranted 
the  "irregularities"  of  his  deposition.  Hence  the  rule  for 
a  new  trial  must  be  made  absolute.  Here  the  matter  was 
sufiered  to  rest.  Each  party  retained  the  control  of  the 
property  which  it  actually  held. 

No  further  prospect  now  remained  of  the  reunion  of 
the  Church.  The  portion  represented  by  the  Assembly 
pronounced  by  the  civil  court  in  the  first  instance  to 
be  the  constitutional  body,  embraced  in  1840 — so  soon 
as  any  proper  estimate  could  be  formed  of  its  strength 

about  one  hundred  and  two  thousand  members  in 

thirteen  hundred  and  seventy-five  churches.*  A  large 
number  of  these  churches,  however,  were  in  a  feeble 
state,  and  were  receiving  missionary  aid.  Their  real 
strength  was  far  less  than  their  numbers  would  seem 
to  imply.  Many  whose  sympathies  had  been  in  favor 
of  the  body  remained  in  connection  with  the  other 
Assembly,  from  an  indisposition  to  disturb  the  peace 
and  harmony  of  the  Presbyteries  and  Synods  in  which 
they  were  in  the  decided  minority. 

This  was  the  case  especially  within  the  bounds  of  the 
Synod  of  Kentucky.  By  a  large  majority  of  its  members 
the  action  of  the  Assembly  of  1836  had  been  strongly 
disapproved.  The  motion  of  W.  L.  Breckinridge,  con- 
demning the  Notes  of  Mr.  Barnes  on  Eomans,  had  been 
carried  by  a  vote  which  stood  thirty-four  to  nine,  with 
five  non  liquets.  By  a  still  stronger  vote,  the  refusal  of 
the  Assembly  to  take  distinctive  action  on  the  subject 
of  Foreign  Missions  was  deplored.  The  further  ope- 
ration of  the  Home  Missionary  and  Education  Societies 
within  the  bounds  of  the  Synod  was  declared,  by  a 


J  This  includes  a  large  number  of  churches  that  finally  adhered 
to  the  other  body. 


538  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

vote  of  nearly  four  to  one,  to  be  against  their  wishes 
and  consent.  The  request  that  they  would  withdraw 
and  make  no  further  collections  or  appointments  within 
the  Synod's  geographical  limits  was  less  decidedly  sus- 
tained, the  vote  standing  tliirty-four  to  fourteen,  with 
three  non  liqueis.  Eleven  members,  seven  of  whom  were 
ministers,  signed  a  protest  against  these  resolutions. 

In  the  fall  of  1838,^  when  the  division  had  taken 
place,  the  Synod,  in  consequence  of  a  previous  con- 
ference and  understanding  on  the  part  of  members, 
resolved  unanimously  to  adhere  to  '^the  General  As- 
sembly which  organized  and  continued  to  hold  its 
sessions  in  the  Seventh  Presbyterian  Church  in  Phila- 
delphia" as  "  the  07ily  true  General  Assembly."  Eleven 
ministers,  however,  and  seven  elders,  while  declaring 
their  adherence  to  said  Assembly,  distinctly  declared 
that  they  withheld  their  approbation  of  the  "Reform" 
measures  of  the  Assemblies  of  1837  and  1838;  and  this 
paper  was  placed  on  the  records  of  the  Synod. 

But  the  matter  w^as  not  suffered  thus  to  rest.  In  the 
"Protestant  and  Herald,"  a  journal  recommended  by 
the  Synod  to  the  churches,  articles  appeared  on  the 
subject  of  the  two  Assemblies,  from  the  pen  of  Dr.  'Na- 
than L.  Rice,  which  gave  great  offence.  In  the  editorial 
columns  these  views  were  virtually  endorsed  by  Dr. 
Breckinridge.  The  members  of  the  section  of  the 
Synod  which  had  consented  to  a  compromise  of  silence 
on  the  subject  for  the  sake  of  peace,  felt  themselves 
aggrieved,  and,  at  an  interlocutor}^  meeting  with  closed 
doors,  gave  expression  to  their  dissatisfaction.  They 
had  trusted  that  the  compromise — as  they  understood 
it — would  have  been  kept  inviolate,  and  that  mutual 
silence  on  controverted  points  would  have  been  pre- 
served. 


*  Davidson's  Kentuckj. 


RESULTS    Of    TlIK    UIVXSIUN.  539 

The  complaint  of  Messrs.  Thomas  Cleland  and  Joseph 
C.  Stiles  brought  oat  Messrs.  Eice  and  Breckinridge  in 
their  own  vindication.  Considerable  warmth  of  feeling 
Avas  manifested.  Some  unkind  words  were  uttered,  and, 
in  consequence  of  the  dissatisfied  members  I'equesting 
leave  of  absence,  for  private  reasons,  the  interlocutory 
meeting  was  abruptly  terminated.  Xo  action  was  taken, 
and  the  aggrieved  members  received  no  satisfaction. 

Meanwhile,  the  Bowding  Green  Church  had  called 
Eev.  Archer  C,  Dickerson  to  be  their  pastor,  and,  when 
the  Synod  interfered  with  what  the  churcli  considered 
their  just  rights,  took  an  independent  stand,  and  pub- 
lished to  the  world  the  reasons  for  their  course. 

Eev.  (Dr.)  Stiles,  feeling  himself  absolved  from  the 
obligation  of  silence  by  the  action  of  the  other  party 
in  the  Synod,  gave  public  expression  to  his  convictions. 
In  two  sermons,  preached  at  Versailles  in  January,  1840, 
he  vindicated  his  own  views  and  those  of  the  brethren 
who  sympathized  with  him.  For  this  he  was  called  to 
account  by  the  West  Lexington  Presbytery,  and  cau- 
tioned to  be  more  careful  in  his  future  course  and 
statements. 

Had  the  Synod  pursued  a  like  course  with  Drs.  Hall 
and  Breckinridge,  peace  might  have  been  preserved 
and  the  Synod  have  remained  undivided.  But  silence 
on  one  side,  while  the  other  was  left  at  libert}',  was 
impossible.  Before  the  spring  of  1840  a  manifesto  ap- 
peared, signed  by  Messrs.  Stiles,  Cleland,  Winston,  and 
Maccoun.  It  denounced  the  "  Eeform  measures"  as 
erecting  a  new  basis,  and  invited  a  convention  of  those 
who  sympathized  with  the  signers,  to  meet  at  Ver- 
sailles. 

The  convention  met  March  17.  Kine  ministers  and 
twenty  elders  Avere  present,  and  an  address  was  issued 
to  set  forth  the  views  of  the  convention. 

The  discussion  had  now  commenced;  and  it  was  vio-or- 


540  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

ously  carried  forward.  The  subject  was  introduced 
into  meetings  of  Presbytery,  and  matters  were  brought 
to  a  crisis  by  a  remonstrance  of  a  minority  of  the  Ver- 
sailles congregation  against  the  settlement  of  Eev.  (Dr.) 
Stiles.  The  sympathies  of  the  Presbytery  were  with 
the  minority,  and  they  acceded  to  their  request.  Upon 
this  the  Versailles  session  undertook  to  discipline  the 
memorialists,  among  whom  was  one  whom  they  had 
suspended.  The  latter  appealed  to  the  Presbytery,  and 
the  decision  was  reversed  and  the  session  deposed. 
These  now  appealed  to  the  Synod;  but  the  decision  of 
the  Presbytery  was  sustained. 

The  difficulty  was  aggravated  by  mutual  charges 
against  each  other  of  Messrs.  Stiles  and  Price,  mem- 
bers of  the  Presbytery.  By  the  intervention  of  friends, 
mutual  concessions  were  made,  and  private  charges 
were  withdrawn.  But  Dr.  Stiles  insisted  on  a  trial. 
He  was  tried,  and  sentence  was  pronounced  that  he  be 
admonished  by  the  moderator,  and  be  requested  to  sub- 
scribe an  acknowledgment  of  the  evil  of  his  course, 
with  an  engagement  hereafter  to  "  abstain  from  all 
such  measures  as  tend  to  divide  and  distract  the 
Church."  Upon  his  refusal  to  do  this  he  was  to  be 
suspended  for  contumacy. 

As  might  have  been  expected,  he  refused,  and  the 
sentence  of  suspension  was  pronounced.  He  rose  and 
left  the  house,  followed  by  large  numbers  whose  sym- 
pathies were  on  his  side.  As  he  continued  to  preach 
in  disregard  of  the  sentence  of  suspension,  the  Presby- 
tery deposed  him  from  the  ministry.  The  sentence, 
however,  was  a  mere  hnitum  fulmen.  The  Synod  them- 
selves disregarded  it,  and  its  prominent  members  freely 
invited  him  to  their  pulpits. 

There  was  now  an  open  rupture.  The  convention 
which  had  met  at  Versailles  was  again  called  together, 
and  it  resolved  itself  into  a  Synod,  consisting  of  three 


RESULTS    OF    THE    DIVISION.  541 

Presbyteries.  One  of  its  first  acts  was  to  restore  Dr. 
Stiles.  At  first  the  body  bad  but  ten  ministers  and  a 
single  church;  but  it  soon  connected  itself  with  the 
"  Constitutional "  General  Assembly,  and  in  1842  could 
boast  of  eleven  ministers  and  fourteen  churches.  In 
18-16,  notwithstanding  the  removal  of  Dr.  Stiles  to 
Richmond,  the  Synod  of  Kentucky — embracing  the 
Presbyteries  of  Harmony,  Providence,  and  Green  River 
— contained  fourteen  ministers,  twenty-one  churches, 
and  nearly  a  thousand  communicants. 

In  Missouri,  the  Presbyter}^  of  St.  Charles  alone  had 
taken  part,  through  its  commissioner,  in  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  "  Constitutional "  Assembly  of  1838.  In  the 
following  year,  however,  it  was  represented  in  the 
other  Assembly,  and  for  a  time  there  was  faint  pros- 
pect of  any  division  within  the  bounds  of  the  Synod. 
Still,  there  was  grave  dissatisfaction  with  the  "Reform 
measures"  of  the  Assembly  of  1837;  and  in  the  fall  of 
1841  a  convention  of  Presbyterian  ministers  and  elders 
in  Missouri  was  called  to  meet  at  Hannibal,  and  the 
result  was  the  formation  of  an  independent  Synod,  to 
which  the  First  Church  of  St.  Louis  and  its  pastor  ad- 
hered. After  acting  in  an  independent  capacity  for 
two  or  three  years,  the  Synod  connected  itself  with  the 
"Constitutional"  Assembly. 

As  the  Synods  of  Michigan  and  Tennei5see  adhered  to 
the  "  Constitutional "  Assembly,  they  were  pronounced 
by  the  other  Assembly  dissolved,  and  the  minority  of 
the  ministers  and  churches  of  the  former  Synod  were 
declared  (1839)  attached  to  the  Synod  of  Cincinnati, 
although  they  were  subsequently  (1840),  at  their  own 
request,  attached  to  the  Synod  of  Indiana;  while  the 
minority  of  the  Synod  of  Tennessee — likewise  declared 
dissolved — was  attached  to  the  Presbytery  of  Holston, 
which  was  by  the  extension  of  the  Synod  of  West 
Tennessee  brought  within  its  limits.  The  Presbyteries 
Vol.  II.— 16 


542  HLSTOiiy    Ui'    l'IlLSiiYT:.illAM£:.I. 

of  Union  and  French  Broad  adhered  by  large  majori- 
ties to  the  "  Constitutional "  Assembly. 

The  meeting  of  the  Synod  of  Illinois  in  the  fall  of 
1838  was  held  at  Peoria,  and  the  attendance  Avas  un- 
usually large.  The  members  opposed  to  the  exscind- 
ing acts  of  1837  were  greatly  in  the  majority.  The 
minority,  after  consultation,  decided  to  introduce  a 
series  of  resolutions  covering  the  whole  case,  and  take 
issue  on  their  reception  or  rejection.  The  house  in 
which  the  Synod  met  Avas  crowded  to  its  full  capacity. 
The  election  of  the  moderator,  Eev.  J.  Blatchford, 
was  carried  by  those  in  sympathy  with  the  exscinded 
Synods,  and  the  vote  stood  about  two  to  one. 

The  minority  "  sought  ever}^  opportunity-  to  intro- 
duce" their  "decisive  measures.'"^  But  they  were  foiled 
by  the  promptness  and  tact  of  the  moderator,  who 
was  well  versed  in  paidiaraentary  usage  and  ecclesias- 
tical law.  At  length,  with  some  demur,  he  admitted  "a 
declaration  and  protest"  to  be  read  as  an  argument  in 
a  case  before  the  house,  although  its  friends  did  not 
pretend  that  it  Avas  specially  relevant  to  the  matter  in 
hand.  "We  took,"  said  they,  "  parliamentar}^  liberty 
in  the  debate,  and  ignored  its  exact  relevancy  to  the 
point  then  before  the  body."  Handing  a  cojjy  of  the 
declaration  to  the  moderator,  which  he  refused  to  re- 
ceive, and  then  laying  it  on  the  table,  the  minority  felt 
that  they  had  accomplished  all  that  Avas  possible  in  the 
circumstances,  and,  on  the  adjournment,  Avithdi-eAV  to 
hold  their  sessions  in  the  First  Presbyterian  Church. 

The  Synod  of  Indiana  was  divided  Avithout  difficulty, 
on  the  principle  of  elective  affinity.  The  two  parties 
met  separately  :  those  opposed  to  the  exscinding  mea- 
sures, in  the  court-house  (New  Albany?),  Avhere  Eev. 
John  Dickey  preached  the  opening  sermon j  the  other 


1  St.  Louis  Presbyterian,  March  15,  1860. 


RESULTS    OF    THE    DIVISION.  543 

in  the  church,  where  Eev.  Alexander  Williamson  pre- 
sided.    Each  party  was  organized  as  the  Synod. 

The  Synod  of  Ohio  consisted  in  1838  of  six  Pres- 
byteries,— Columbus,  Richland,  Lancaster,  Wooster, 
Athens,  and  Marion.  Of  these  the  four  first  had,  pre- 
vious to  the  meeting  of  Synod,  declared  by  majorities 
in  favor  of  the  measures  of  the  Assemblies  of  1837  and 
1838.  "When  the  Synod  had  convened,  Dr.  Hoge  moved 
that  a  recess  of  five  minutes  be  taken,  and  that  the  two 
parties  of  the  Synod  act  according  to  their  views  of 
duty, — the  '•  Old  School"  to  occup}'-  the  upper  part  of 
the  house,  and  the  "New  School"  the  basement  of  the 
building  in  which  the  Synod  was  then  assembled.  A 
substitute  for  this  motion  was  offered,  but  rejected. 
The  vote  on  the  motion  of  Dr.  Hoge  stood  fifty-five 
ayes  to  forty-three  nays,  with  eleven  non  liquets.  The 
records  of  the  Synod  (New  School)  state  that  "  the  fifty-five 
then  left  the  Synod,  and  have  not  returned." 

The  Synod  of  Cincinnati  was  divided  on  the  motion 
that  Dr.  Beecher,  T.  J.  Briggs,  B.  Dickinson,  and  others, 
on  the  ground  of  having  sustained  the  measures  for 
organizing  the  so-called  Assembly  that  met  in  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Philadelphia,  cannot  longer 
be  considered  in  connection  with  the  Presbyterian 
Church  or  members  of  this  Synod,  and  that  Dr.  J.  L. 
Wilson  and  others  who  wei'e  specified  be  recognized  as 
the  Presbyter}^  of  Cincinnati.  The  vote  on  the  motion 
was  carried  by  sixty-two  ayes  to  forty-four  nays,  while 
eight  or  ten  were  excused  from  voting. 

The  Synod  of  Albany  met  at  Hudson,  Oct.  9,  1838. 
When  the  roll  had  been  called,  a  resolution  was  sub- 
mitted by  Pi-esident  Nott,  of  Union  College,  to  the 
effect  that,  "  Whereas  a  diversity  of  opinion  is  known 
to  exist  among  the  members  of  this  Synod  in  relation 
to  certain  acts  of  the  General  Assemblies  of  1837  and 
1838,  therefore — without  deciding  at  this  time  upon 


544  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTEltlANISxM. 

the  character  of  these  acts — Eesolved,  That  this  Synod 
be  and  continue  a  constituent  part  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  represented  in  the  Assembly  which  held  their 
session  in  the  Seventh  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  city 
of  Philadelphia."  This  motion  was  laid  upon  the  table 
by  a  vote  of  seven t}" -five  to  nineteen,  with  thirteen  non 
liquets.  Upon  this  Dr.  Nott  requested  those  who  were 
prepared  to  adhere  to  the  Assembly  approved  by  his 
resolution,  to  withdraw  to  an  adjoining  room.  Thirty- 
five  members  thereupon  left  the  Synod,  and  did  not 
afterward  answer  to  their  names  at  the  calling  of  the 
roll.  Among  these  thirty-five  were  those  who  repre- 
sented the  majority  of  Albany  Presbyter3^  The  mi- 
nority who  did  not  withdraw,  and  those  of  the  Pres- 
bytery who  sympathized  with  them,  were  thenceforth 
recognized  by  the  Sjmod  as  the  Presbytery  of  Albany. 
The  members  who  withdrew  also  assumed  the  title  of 
the  Synod  of  Alban^^. 

The  Synod  of  New  York,  embracing  eight  Presby- 
teries, met  at  Newburgh,  Oct.  16,  1838, — one  hundi-ed 
and  eighty-one  members  answering  to  their  names,  and 
the  number  of  ministers  exceeding  that  of  elders  by 
only  eleven.  After  the  calling  of  the  roll,  resolutions 
were  submitted  to  the  eff'ect  that  a  division  of  the  body 
appeared  inevitable,  that  it  should  be  amicably  ef- 
fected, and  that  certain  proposed  steps  should  be  taken 
to  secure  the  object.  The  vote  in  favor  of  these  reso- 
lutions stood  one  hundred  and  three  to  sixty-four.  The 
roll  was  then  called  in  accordance  with  the  plan  pro- 
posed in  one  of  the  resolutions,  and  forty-six  ministers 
and  forty-one  elders  declared  their  adherence  to  the  As- 
sembly that  met  in  the  Seventh  Presbyterian  Church; 
thirty -five,  including  twenty  ministers  and  fifteen 
elders,  declared  their  adherence  to  the  Assembly  that 
met  in  the  First  Presbyterian  Church;  while  forty-nine 
members,  of  whom  twenty-two  were  ministers,  refused 


RESULTS    OF    THE    DIVISION.  545' 

to  answer,  regarding  the  whole  proceeding  purporting 
to  divide  the  Synod  as  unconstitutional,  null,  and  void. 

Taking  this  view  of  the  case,  fifty-six  members  of 
the  S^niod  entered  their  protest  against  the  resolutions 
that  had  been  adopted.  They  claimed  that  the  Synod 
had  no  power  to  divide  itself;  that  it  would  bo  eminently 
a  violation  of  the  Constitution  of  the  Church  for  the 
Sj'nod  to  divide  itself  in  such  a  way  that  either  portion 
would  virtually  put  the  other  without  the  pale  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church ;  that  there  was  no  sufficient 
ground  for  any  division  whatever;  that  the  proceed- 
ings in  accordance  with  the  resolutions,  while  subver- 
sive of  the  Constitution,  Avere  likewise  inconsistent 
with  the  ordination  vow  to  study  the  peace,  unity,  and 
purity  of  the  Church;  and  that  there  was  no  evidence 
that  the  division  of  the  Church  was  either  inevitable, 
necessary,  or  reasonable  at  the  present  time. 

"While  it  was  agreed  that  the  majority  in  favor  of  the 
resolutions  should  meet  in  the  church-edifice,  and  the 
minority  in  tlie  lecture-room,  the  protestants,  claiming 
to  represent  the  undivided  Synod,  met  at  the  High 
School  and  constituted  themselves  as  the  Synod.  The 
minority  who  voted  for  the  divisory  resolutions,  de- 
claring that  they  had  voted  as  they  had  simply  on  the 
grounds  of  expediency,  and  expressing  their  willing- 
ness to  waive  their  opinions  in  favor  of  the  scruples  of 
their  brethren,  wei-e  received  b}^  the  latter,  and  thus 
assisted  to  constitute  the  body  which  adhered  to  the 
Assembly  that  met  in  the  First  Presbyterian  Church. 

When  the  Synod  of  New  Jerse}-  met  in  the  fall  of 
1838,  the  first  question  that  tested  the  relative  strength 
of  parties  was  taken  on  the  motion  that  the  Presby- 
tery of  Xewark  take  order  on  tlie  course  of  its  com- 
missioners, and  that,  if  its  commissioners  for  the  en- 
suing 5'ear  act  with  the  body  succeeding  that  which 
met  in  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  it  shall  be  no 

45* 


546  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIAiMSM. 

longer  considered  as  belonging  to  the  Synod.  The 
vote  stood  eighty-one  ayes  to  cight3'-one  nays,  and  the 
motion  was  carried  by  the  casting  vote  of  the  mode- 
rator. The  minority  of  the  Synod,  consisting  of  the 
Presbyteries  of  Newark,  Eockaway,  and  Montrose, 
was  constituted  by  the  (N.  S.)  Assembly  of  1839'  the  Synod 
of  Newark.  But  in  the  following  year  the  two  Synods, 
of  New  York  and  Newark  were  united  by  the  As- 
sembly in  a  single  body,  to  be  knoAvn  by  the  name — 
which  it  has  since  retained — of  the  Synod  of  New 
York  and  New  Jersey. 

In  Eastern  Pennsylvania  and  Delaware  the  lines  of 
division  were  already  quite  distinctly  drawn.  The 
Synod  of  Delaware,  erected  by  the  Assembly  of  1834 
and  dissolved  by  that  of  the  following  year,  represented 
in  the  main  the  portion  of  the  Church  in  this  region 
opposed  to  the  exscinding  measures. 

The  "Constitutional"  Assembly  of  1838,  on  the  petition 
of  members  of  several  of  the  interested  Presbyteries, 
erected  the  Synod  of  Pennsylvania, — which  was  to- 
consist  of  the  Presbyteries  of  Wilmington,  Lewes, 
Philadelphia  Second,  Philadelphia  Third,  Carlisle,  Hun- 
tingdon, and  Northumberland.  The  churches  and  min- 
isters of  Western  Pennsylvania  opposed  to  the  excision, 
who  constituted  a  decided  minority  of  the  Synod  of 
»  Pittsburg,  were  in  1843  constituted  the  Synod  of  West 
Pennsylvania,  and  consisted  of  the  Presbyteries  of 
Erie,  Meadville,  and  Pittsburg;  while  the  minority  of 
the  Presbyteries  of  Northumberland,  Huntingdon,  and 
Carlisle  were  erected  into  the  Presbytery  of  Harris- 
burg.  The  name  of  Philadelphia  Second  was  changed 
to  that  of  Philadelphia  fourth,  to  distinguish  it  from 
the  Presbytery  of  the  same  name  adhering  to  the  ex- 
scinding Assembly. 

'  Rockaway  Presbytery  was  formed  at  this  juncture  by  a  division 
of  Newark.     See  Digest,  150. 


RESULTS    OF    THE    DIVISION.  547 

In  Virginia  the  majority  of  the  Synod  sustained  the 
action  of  the  Assembly  of  1887.  Dr.  Baxter  had  taken 
an  active  part  in  devising  them  and  giving  them  shape, 
and  his  influence  was  powerful  among  the  churches  of 
his  native  State.  His  associate  instructors  in  the  semi- 
nary and  the  President  of  the  college  disapproved  his 
course,  although  it  was  approved  by  Eev.  B.  F.  Stanton, 
the  pastor  of  the  church.  The  Southern  "  Eeligious 
Telegraph"  opposed  the  obnoxious  acts.  Dr.  Carroll 
published  his  strictures  in  pamphlet  form.  Dr.  Baxter 
explained  and  defended  his  course.  Comments  and 
replies  followed.  The  venerable  Dr.  Hill,  feeling  that 
the  Constitution  of  the  Church  had  been  violated,  took 
up  his  pen  vigorously  in  its  defence.  In  the  midst  of 
this  discussion,  "The  Watchman  of  the  South,"  under 
the  editorship  of  Eev.  Dr.  Plumer,  made  its  appearance 
at  Eichmond.  It  became  the  organ  of  those  who  sus- 
tained the  acts  of  the  Assembly  of  1837,  and  its  ener- 
getic utterances  produced  a  deep  impression. 

In  these  circumstances,  the  Presbyteries  met  for  their 
autumn  sessions.  In  Winchester  Presbytery  the  acts 
of  the  Assembly  were  sustained  by  a  small  majority. 
In  Lexington,  where  the  influence  of  Dr.  Baxter  wa? 
paramount,  the  unanimity  in  their  favor  was  almost 
entire.  In  the  other  Presbyteries  the  minorities  op- 
posed  to  them  were  large.  The  Synod  met  in  October 
at  Lexington.  The  subject  was  ably  discussed ;  and, 
though  a  majority  was  found  to  sustain  the  acts  of  the 
Assembly,  the  minority  was  numerous  and  able.  Few, 
however,  as  yet  apprehended  a  division  of  the  Synod. 

A  few  months  later,  the  Board  of  the  Seminary  felt  it 
necessary  to  request  the  resignation  of  Messrs.  Good- 
rich and  Taylor,  Dr.  Baxter's  associates.  They  could 
not  agree  with  the  majority  of  the  Synod;  and  this  fact 
they  did  not  disguise.  They  disapproved  of  Dr.  Baxter's 
course  and  of  the  acts  of  the  Assembly,  and,  in  accord- 


548  HISTORY    OF    I'RESBYTERIANISM. 

anee  with  the  request  of  the  Board,  resigned  theii 
positions.  The  minority  could  now  perceive  that  the 
lines  were  to  be  closely  drawn,  and  that  approval  of 
the  acts  of  the  Assembly  was  to  be  made  a  test  of  office. 
"With  the  organization  of  two  General  Assemblies  in 
1838,  it  was  manifest  that  their  choice  could  not  louirer 
be  delayed.  The  project  was,  indeed,  agitated  of  forming 
a  Southern  Assembly;  but  the  majority  felt  that  even 
with  reference  to  the  vexed  question  of  slavery  it  Avas 
better  to  leave  it  in  the  hands  of  their  Northern  sympa- 
thizers. In  these  circumstances,  the  commissioners  for 
1838  were  elected.  The  effort  made  to  effect  a  compro- 
mise between  the  parties  proved  ineffectual,  and  the  com- 
missionei'S  were  left  to  take  their  places  in  the  Assem- 
blies to  which  they  or  their  Presbyteries  respectively 
adhered.  Division  was  now  inevitable.  It  began  in 
the  Presbytery  of  the  District  of  Columbia.  Their 
commissioners,  in  accordance  with  the  known  senti- 
ments of  the  body,  had  taken  their  seats  in  the  "Consti- 
tutional" Assembly  of  1838.  A  minority  of  four  with- 
drew, and  were  constituted,  by  the  Synod  in  sympathy 
with  them,  the  Presbytery  of  the  District, — two  bodies 
of  the  same  name  thus  occupying  the  field. 

In  the  Presbyter}'^  of  Abingdon,  a  Committee  on  the 
State  of  the  Church  made  a  report  embracing  resolutions 
in  favor  of  the  "Constitutional"  Assembly,  and  disapprov- 
ing of  the  course  of  their  commissioner  in  attending 
the  other.  These,  however,  were  voted  down,  and  at 
the  close  of  the  sessions  the  minority  withdrew  to  form 
themselves  into  a  distinct  body.  In  Lexington  Pres- 
bytery, the  single  church  of  Cook's  Creek  and  Har- 
risonburg, out  of  adherence  to  the  "Constitutional"  As- 
sembly, withdrew.  In  Winchester  Presbytery,  a  reso- 
lution to  adhere  to  the  "Constitutional"  Assembly  was 
voted  down,  ayes  thirteen,  nays  sixteen.  The  minority 
A'ithdrew   to   the    court-house    in    Charleston    (where   the 


RESULTS    OF    THE    DIVISION.  541) 

Presbytery  met)  and  formed  themselves  into  a  Presby. 
tery,  retaining  the  old  name.  Five  ordained  ministers 
and  eight  churches  composed  the  strength  of  the  seces- 
sion, while  ten  ministers  and  twenty-four  churches 
adhered  to  the  Assembly  which  met  in  the  Seventh 
Church. 

In  the  Presbyteries  of  East  and  West  Hanover  no 
formal  division  took  place,  but  a  strong  opposition  to 
the  acts  of  the  Assembly  of  1837  was  felt  and  mani- 
fested. Dr.  Plumer's  church  was  divided,  and  a  portion 
Avithdrew  to  form  a  new  organization,  which  was  soon 
merged  in  that  of  Shockoe  Hill,  the  latter  having  been 
depleted  to  strengthen  that  of  Dr.  Plumer,  by  merabei'S 
who  sympathized  with  him  in  his  course.  In  Peters- 
burg, the  minority — opposed  to  the  action  of  the  As- 
sembly of  1837 — withdrew  and  formed  a  new  church. 
In  Hanover  this  was  likewise  the  case  with  a  minority 
of  opposite  sympathies.  Throe  ministers  and  four  elders 
from  the  Presbytery  of  Hanover,  and  some  likewise 
from  West  Hanover,  withdrew  to  form  the  Presbytery  of 
Hanover  in  connection  with  the  "  Constitutional "  General 
Assembly. 

From  the  several  Presbyteries  thus  formed  and  the 
Presbytery  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  the  Synod  of 
Virginia  in  connection  with  the  "Constitutional"  Assem- 
bly was  constituted.  In  the  separations  incident  to  the 
division,  kindness  and  courtesy,  for  the  most  part,  pre- 
vailed. But  old  friendships  were  severed,  and  many 
who  for  the  best  part  of  a  generation  had  stood  together 
shoulder  to  shoulder  w^ere  thenceforth  separated  and 
brought  into  new  or  distinct  associations. 

The  other  Southern  Synods  by  decided  majorities 
sustained  the  acts  of  the  Assembly  of  1837.  This  was 
the  case  especially  with  Xorth  Carolina.  In  South 
Carolina,  the  Charleston  Union  Presbytery  at  first 
seemed  not  far  from  equally  divided,  its  commissioner 


550  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

meeting  at  different  times  Avith  both  Assemblies.  But 
the  friends  of  the  "Constitutional"  Assembly,  composing 
a  decided  majority,  retained  the  name  and  -organization, 
while  refusing  to  comply  with  the  direction  given  by 
the  Synod  that  each  Presbj^tery  should  express  approval 
of  the  Assembly  of  1837  so  far  as  to  adhere  to  the  new 
basis.  Dr.  Smyth,  of  Charleston,  and  some  few  others 
who  sympathized  with  him,  withdrew,  claiming,  al- 
though a  minority,  the  name  and  rights  of  the  original 
Presbytery. 

In  Eastern  Tennessee  there  was  strong  opposition  to 
the  action  of  the  Assemblj^  of  1837,  and  a  very  large 
proportion  of  the  churches  remained  in  sjmipathy  with, 
and  adhered  to,  the  Constitutional  Assembly.  In  "West- 
ern Tennessee  the  case  was  reversed,  as  it  was  gene- 
rally among  the  churches  of  Georgia,  Alabama,  and 
Louisiana. 

In  the  great  majority  of  cases,  the  Presbyteries,  in- 
cluding the  dissatisfied  minority,  remained  united  in 
their  adherence  to  the  Assembly  to  which  each  several 
body  attached  itself.  Some,  like  that  of  Newburyport, 
which  was  declared  by  the  "  Old  School"  Assembly  of 
1840  to  have  ''virtually  separated  itself,"^  hesitated  to 
take  decisive  steps  to  declare  its  adherence.  Of  those 
whose  commissioners  were  present  in  the  Constitutional 
Assembly  of  1838,  several  adhered  in  part  to  the  other 
Assembly.  These  were,  in  1839,  Troy,  North  Eiver, 
Erie,  Marion,  Cincinnati,  Crawfordsville,  St.  Charles, 
Holston,  Clinton,  and  District  of  Columbia.  All,  or 
nearly  all,  of  these  were  rent  in  sunder,  and  each  frag- 
ment of  the  Presbytery  retained  the  old  name  and  was 
represented  in  the  Assembly  to  Avhich  it  adhered.  A 
single  new  Presbytery,  that  of  Caledonia,  connected 
with  the  Sjmod  of  New  Jersey,  was  formed  by  seces- 


'  It  was  afterward  received. 


KKSULTS    OF    TUK    DrviSlO.V.  551 

eions  from  the  exscinded  Synods  of  New  York.  lu 
1840  it  numbered  but  six  churches,  the  aggregate  mem- 
bership of  which  was  less  than  four  hundred. 

In  a  large  number  of  instances,  ministers  and  churches 
who  regarded  the  acts  of  the  Assembly  of  1837  as  un. 
constitutional  saw  no  sufficient  reason  for  a  change  of 
ecclesiastical  relations.  In  some  cases  they  contented 
themselves  with  simply  expressing  their  disapproval, 
and  in  others — as  in  the  case  of  the  Brick  Church  of 
x^ew  York  and  its  pastor^ — with  a  solemn  protest 
against  their  constitutionality.  This  course  was  taken 
ia  order  to  prevent  churches  from  being  rent  in  sun- 
der, and  with  the  desire  of  promoting  peace.  The 
division,  as  it  actually  took  place,  by  no  means  re- 
presented the  real  sentiment  of  the  churches  as  a 
body  with  regard  to  the  action  Avhich  had  occasioned 
the  division.  Many  individuals,  and  even  churches, 
who  did  not  connect  themselves  with  the  "  Constitutional " 
Assembly,  felt  aggrieved  at  the  unconstitutional  course,  as 
they  considered  it,  which  had  been  the  occasion  of  its 
existence. 

Indeed,  so  manifest  was  the  disapproval  with  which 
they  were  regarded  by  some  who  adhered  to  the  "Old 
Seliool"  Assembly,  that  express  stipulations  were  made, 
as  in  Albany  Presbj^tery,  that  the  views  of  members 
on  that  subject  should  not  be  called  in  question.  The 
General  Assembly  itself,  while  forced  to  take  exception 
(1839)  to  the  records  of  the  Synod  of  Cincinnati,  which 
declared  the  four  Synods  to  be  still  constitutional 
branches  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  was  compelled 
subsequently  to  provide  that  a  disapj^roval  of  the  ex- 


'  Picv.  Dr.  Spencer,  of  Brooklyn,  N.Y.,  united  with  Dr.  Spring 
in  the  protest,  though  he  also  adhered  to  the  Presbytery.  ""With 
that  fearlessness  and  emphasis  which  characterized  him,"  he  con- 
demned the  measures  of  the  Assembly  of  1837,  and  deplored  their 
CTil  effects. — L'fe  of  Spencer,  p.  46. 


OiJZ  lUiiTORY    OF    l-RESBYTKRIANISM. 

scinding  acts  should  be  no  bar  to  ministerial  fellowship 
or  Presbyterial  standing. 

In  numerous  instances,  the  results  of  the  division 
were  lamentable.  New  and  feeble  organizations  were 
formed  by  seceders  from  old  churches.  Organizations 
once  strong  and  flourishing  were  rent  asunder.  Law- 
suits were  instituted  to  determine  the  title  to  church 
property.  Old  friendships  were  broken  up,  and  bitter 
and  lasting  alienations  were  produced.  The  strength 
that  should  have  been  concentrated  for  aggressive 
eiforts  was  frittered  away  in  mutual  strife  and  exas- 
jDeration.  In  some  instances  the  animosity  was  such 
as  could  scarcely  fail  to  be  transmitted  to  another 
generation. 

In  the  Western  field,  some  of  the  results  of  the  di- 
vision were  specially  disastrous.  A  sad  check  was  given 
to  the  spirit  of  Christian  and  missionary  enterprise.  A 
prejudice  was  excited  against  the  Presbyterian  system; 
and  thousands  who  could  distinctly  apprehend  the  injus- 
tice of  the  exscinding  acts  were  far  from  disposed  to 
interpret  them  as  the  result  of  the  violation  and  not 
of  the  consistent  application  of  the  principles  of  the  Con- 
stitution. There  were  not  wanting  those,  moreover, 
who  were  disposed  and  able  to  extend  and  confirm  this 
prejudice,  and  thus  cover  with  odium  whatever  bore  the 
Presbyterian  name.  It  was  thus  that  serious  and  em- 
barrassing obstacles  were  thrown  in  the  way  of  aggres- 
sive effort,  and  a  kind  of  Independency,  often  allied  with 
error,  which  the  New  England  churches  were  constrained 
to  disown,  was  introdueod.  Those  who  had  entered  the 
Western  field  with  hopes  inspired  by  the  previous  his- 
tory of  the  Church  were  in  some  instances  disheart- 
ened, and  constrained  to  abandon  the  field.  Not  a  little 
energy  which  might  have  been  wisely  and  profitably 
employed  was  wasted  in  the  mutual  rivalries  and  an- 
tagonisms which  the  division  produced. 


THE    TWO    ASSEMBLIES — CONCLUSION.  553 


CHAPTER  XLII. 

THE    TWO    ASSEMBLIES — CONCLUSION. 

The  division  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  resulted 
in  the  establishment,  virtually,  of  two  denominations, 
each  claiming  the  same  title,  adopting  the  same 
standards,  and,  to  a  considerable  extent,  occupying  the 
same  field,  and  represented  by  its  General  Assembly. 
The  constituent  elements  of  the  two  bodies,  however, 
were  somewhat  diverse.  Those  which  adhered  to  the 
"Constitutional"  General  Assembly  w^ere  far  from  homo- 
geneous. They  were  united  mainly  by  their  aversion 
to  a  rigid  ecclesiasticism,  their  conviction  of  the  injus- 
tice of  the  exscinding  acts,  their  sj'mpathy  with  those 
who  had  thereby  been  denied  their  rights  by  the  As- 
sembly of  1837,  as  well  as  by  a  tolerance  of  minor  di. 
versities  of  belief  which  did  not  aifect  the  intelligent 
and  sincere  adoption  of  the  standards  of  the  Church. 
They  readily  accepted,  if  they  did  not  prefer,  the  vol- 
untary system  of  conducting  missionary  operatioris; 
for  experience  had  not  yet  taught  them  the  lessons 
which  they  were  to  learn  when  called  to  provide  for 
the  necessities  of  those  of  their  own  household. 

But  these  men,  seeking  to  perpetuate  rather  than  in- 
troduce the  co-operative  system  which  for  more  than 
the  lifetime  of  a  generation  had  been  encouraged  by 
the  General  Assembly,  w^ere  many  of  them  possessed 
of  more  zeal  than  prudence.  Some  of  them,  with  Con- 
gregational education  and  predilections,  were  Presby- 
terians simply  from  the  force  of  circumstances,  or  the 
influence  of  localit}^  or  association.     These,  especially 

Vol.  II.— 47 


554  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

under  the  pressure  of  revived  denomiiuxtional  zeal  which 
found  them  predisposed  to  lax  views  of  church  order, 
were  ere  long  to  fall  back,  by  elective  affinity,  into  those 
associations  to  which  they  more  properly  belonged. 
Others  still,  while  Presbyterian  by  intelligent  jDrefer- 
ence  and  conviction,  had  been  repelled  by  the  course 
and  conduct  of  those  whose  policy  they  opposed,  and 
were  prepared  to  dispense  with  those  features  of  the 
Presbyterian  system  which  appeared  to  them  non- 
essential, and  which — like  the  plan  of  annual  Assem- 
blies, or  of  final  appeal  to  the  General  Assembly — 
appeared  to  them  a  kind  of  suj^erfluous  ecclesiastical 
machinery.  Among  these  wei'e  to  be  found  men  little 
qualified  for  leadership,  and  better  fitted  to  exj)Ose  the 
injustice  that  denied  them  their  rights  than  conciliate 
the  confidence  that  would  respect  their  counsels. 

But  there  was  yet  an  element  belonging  to  this  body, 
composed  of  as  true  friends  as  any  which  the  Church 
has  been  privileged  to  boast,  men  like  Richards,  Fisher, 
Hillyer,  McAuley,  Cathcart,  and  scores  of  others,  of 
whose  soundness  in  the  faith  and  of  whose  attachment 
to  the  Presbyterian  Church  no  whisper  of  doubt  had 
been  ever  breathed,  and  who  regarded  the  jirogress  of 
the  ploughshare  of  division  with  the  undissembled  grief 
of  the  true  parent  at  the  sundering  of  the  living  child. 
And  in  full  sympathy  with  these,  though  reproached  or 
molested  on  account  of  the  peculiarities  of  doctrine  or 
practice  charged  upon  them,  were  men  like  Skinner, 
Patterson,  Barnes,  Beman,  Beecher,  and  DufBeld,  could 
not  abandon  the  name  and  faith  which  had  been  be- 
queathed to  them  from  the  fathers. 

As  to  the  past,  these  various  elements  were  a  unit. 
But  as  to  questions  of  future  policy  they  were  divided 
among  themselves.  Unfortunate  in  their  leaders,  some 
of  whom  lacked  experience,  if  not  prudence,  they  allowed 
the  project  of  modifying  the  Constitution  of  the  Church 


THE    TWO    ASSKMULIES — COxNCLUSlON.  555 

to  pass  without  marked  oj)position,  only  a  few  years  later 
to  repudiate,  by  a  prompt  restoration  of  "  the  book"  to 
its  original  integrity,  their  inconsiderate  mistake.  They 
ignored  to  the  last  moment  the  rising  spirit  of  denomi- 
national zeal  which  was  ere  long  to  render  the  former 
co-operation  of  Presbyterians  and  Congregationalists 
in  education  and  home  missions  impossible,  and  which, 
receiving  a  new  impulse  from  the  repudiation  of  the 
Plan  of  Union  by  the  (Congregational)  Albanj'  Con- 
vention of  1852,  culminated  in  that  subservience  of  the 
Home  Missionary  Society  to  the  policy  of  Western  Con- 
gregationalists which  forced  upon  Presb3-terians,  against 
b(jtli  their  preferences  and  their  prejudices,  the  care  of 
their  own  churches. 

On  the  subject  of  slavery  the  Assembly  was  also  di- 
vided. Year  after  year,  memorials  and  overtures  were 
presented,  which  repeatedly  elicited  warm  and  extended 
discussions,  and  resulted  in  action  which  frequently 
failed  to  satisfy  the  more  zealous  anti-slavery  men  of 
the  North,  Avhile  it  excited  dissatisfaction  at  the  South. 
Yet  the  preponderating  sentiment  of  the  Church  was 
decidedly  anti-slavery,  and  the  utterances  of  the  As- 
sembly from  year  to  3'ear  showed  that  it  fully  responded 
to  that  sentiment.  Still  the  continued  agitation  of  the 
subject,  and  the  mutual  alienation  of  feeling  thus  pro- 
duced, diverted  the  attention  of  the  Assembly  more  or 
less  from  its  appropriate  work,  while  the  opportunity 
was  atforded,  and  in  some  cases  was  eagerly  improved, 
of  misrepresenting  its  position  both  at  the  North  and 
South,  and  repelling  from  its  communion  both  the 
radical  reformer  and  the  apologist  of  '•  Southern  insti- 
tutions." 

In  such  circumstances  as  these,  the  growth  of  the 
Church  w^as  greatly  retarded.  Before  it  could  be  fully 
prepared  to  occupy  its  true  position,  it  was  essential 
that  it  should  be  brought  into  harmony  within  itself. 


556  HlSTOilY    OF    PKESBYTERIANISM. 

The  Albany  Convention  of  1852,  which  gave  expression 
to  that  zeal  for  Congregational  usage  which  for  several 
years  had  been  steadily  increasing,  resulted — as  sta- 
tistics show — in  detaching  from  the  Church,  to  a  con- 
siderable extent,  certain  elements  which  had  hitherto 
but  loosely  adhered  to  it;  while  its  action  discounte- 
nancing the  Plan  of  Union  seemed  to  indicate  that  co- 
operative sympath}^,  so  essential  to  the  prosecution  of 
common  efforts  in  Education  and  Home  Missions,  had 
experienced  a  marked  decline.  The  Church  was  thus 
forced — while  in  a  fraternal  spirit  refusing  to  disturb 
the  Plan  of  Union,  and  while  cherishing  still  the  hope 
of  co-operation  in  voluntary  societies — to  consider  more 
seriously  than  heretofore  the  policy  which  duty  to  Hm 
own  interests,  to  the  country  at  large,  and  to  the  cause 
of  Christ  required  it  to  adopt.  The  pressure  of  this 
necessity  was,  from  year  to  year,  more  and  more  deeply 
felt;  while  the  voluntar}^  withdrawal  of  those  who  were 
not  in  sympathy  with  the  policy  of  the  Church  left  the 
Assembly  more  free  to  adopt  the  measures  which  the 
emergency  required. 

As  early  as  1853  it  was  evident  that  in  some  way  the 
Church  must  come  into  unity  with  itself  on  the  vexed 
question  of  slavery,  if  it  was  ever  to  make  progress  in 
the  direction  of  homogeneous  and  healthy  growth.  The 
Assembly  of  that  year,  in  a  fraternal  spirit,  and  in  re- 
sponse to  overtures  both  from  the  North  and  South, 
pi'oposed  that  the  facts  that  concerned  the  actual  rela- 
tion of  the  Southern  churches  to  slavery  should  be 
reported  to  the  Assembly  of  the  following  j^ear.  The 
measure  was  denounced  as  an  inquisitorial  proceeding; 
and  the  response  of  1854  showed  that  a  solution  of  the 
question  was  still  prospectively  as  distant  as  ever.  In 
1855  a  committee  was  appointed  to  report  the  next  j'ear 
on  the  constitutional  power  of  the  General  Assembly 
over  the  subject  of  slaveholding  in  the  churches  under 


Tin:  Tv;o  AS^;^.:.•^I.^;:.s — conclusion.  657 

their  care;  but  a  prolonged  discussion  followed  the  pre- 
sentation of  this  report,  which,  though  adopted  hy  the 
Assembly,  was  so  unacceptable  to  Southern  members 
that  a  minorit}'  report  was  presented  by  the  portion 
of  the  committee  in  sympathy  with  them.  Southern 
ministers  and  churches  complained  of  these  protracted 
.discussions  and  frequent  resolutions  on  the  subject  of 
slavery  J  and  in  1857  the  Presbytery  of  Lexington, 
South,  gave  the  Assembly  official  notice  that  many 
members  of  its  churches,  as  well  as  a  number  of  its 
ministers  and  elders,  held  slaves  "from  jirinciple"  and 
'■of  choice,"  believing  it  to  be  right  according  to  the 
Eible,  and  that  the  Presbytery  itself  sustained  them  in 
their  position. 

Even  had  the  Assembly  desired,  it  was  no  longer 
possible  for  it  to  evade  the  issue  which  was  thus  pre- 
sented, liy  a  vote  of  one  hundred  and  sixty-nine  yeas 
to  twenty-six  nays,  a  report  was  adopted  which  pre- 
sented a  summary  history  of  the  action  of  successive 
Assemblies  on  the  subject  of  slaverj^,  and  which  "dis- 
approved and  earnestly  condemned"  the  position  of  the 
Presbytery  of  Lexington,  South,  as  opposed  to  the  esta- 
blished convictions  of  the  Church,  and  tending  neces- 
sarily to  mar  its  peace,  seriously  hinder  its  prospeinty, 
and  bring  reproach  on  our  holy  religion.  The  Pres- 
bytery were  called  uj)on  to  review  and  rectify  their 
position,  Avhile  "  such  doctrines  and  practice,"  it  Avas 
declared,  could  not  "  be  j)ermanently  tolerated  in  the 
Presbj'terian  Church." 

This  action  of  the  Assembly  was  met  by  a  protest 
of  twenty-two  members,  representing  the  Southern 
churches,  and  identifying  their  own  case  with  that  of 
the  Presbytery  of  Lexington,  South.  Thej'  protested 
that  this  action  "  degraded  the  whole  Southern  Church;" 
tliat  it  was  "the  virtual  exscinding  of  the  South,"  "  un- 
i-igh  teous.  opprc:>sivc.  uncalled  for,  the  exercise  of  usurped 


658  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

power,  destructive  of  the  unity  of  our  branch  of  the 
Churcli,  hurtful  to  the  North  and  the  South,  and  adding 
to  the  peril  of  the  union  of  these  United  States."  The 
Assembly  replied  by  declaring  the  assumption  that  its 
action  was  an  "indirect  excision"  of  the  South  to  be 
groundless,  and  that  the  allegations  respecting  that 
action  were,  consequently,  unwarranted. 

But  the  protestants  had  taken  their  stand,  and  upon 
their  return  to  their  homes  they  were  sustained  by 
their  Presbyteries  with  great  unanimity  in  the  position 
they  had  assumed.  The  result  was  the  voluntary  with- 
drawal of  the  Southern  churches  under  the  care  of  the 
Assembly,  almost  in  solid  column,  and  the  formation 
April  1,  1858,  of  the  "United  Synod  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church."  Thus,  before  political  convulsions  had 
occurred  to  rend  the  Church  through  the  State,  the  body 
represented  by  the  "  Constitutional "  General  Assembly 
had  defined  its  position,  had  attained  internal  harmony, 
and  had  thrown  off  an  incubus  Avhich  for  years  had 
oppressed  it  and  crippled  its  enei'gies. 

But,  while  the  causes  were  at  work  which  w^ere 
destined  finally  to  unite  the  Church  within  itself,  and 
enable  it  to  put  forth,  with  intelligent  consciousness 
of  duty  and  discernment  of  its  true  policy-,  the  efforts 
necessary  to  its  progress,  those  measures  were  inaugu- 
rated which  were  at  length  to  express  that  duty  and 
shape  that  policy.  In  1853  the  wants  of  feeble  con- 
gregations, compelled  repeatedly  to  apply,  at  great  in- 
convenience and  considerable  exjiense,  as  well  as  with 
uncertain  prospects  of  success,  to  Eastern  churches  for 
aid  in  erecting  houses  of  worship,  were  brought  to  the 
attention  of  the  General  Assembly;  and  it  was  resolved, 
with  great  unanimity  and  no  little  enthusiasm,  that  an 
effort  should  be  made  to  raise  a  permanent  fund  of  one 
hundred  thousand  dollars,  which  should  be  available  for 
the  relief  of  applicants  entitled  to  aid.     In  this  effort 


THE    TWO    ASSEMBLIES — CONCLUSION.  559 

the  churches  generall}'  participated,  and  it  was  at  length 
crowned  wath  complete  success.  It  thus  not  only  gave 
new  hope  to  feehle  congregations,  and  inspired  them  to 
the  exertions  necessary  on  their  part  to  meet  the  terms 
on  which  aid  might  be  secured,  but  it  reacted  upon  the 
Church  itself,  arousing  it  to  a  consciousness  of  its  ability 
and  to  a  sense  of  its  obligations,  and  preparing  it  for 
still  further  steps  in  the  same  direction.  Each  succes- 
sive Assembly  afforded  increasing  evidence  that  the 
problem  of  what  the  denomination  owed  to  itself  and 
to  the  cause  of  Christ  throughout  the  land  was  be- 
coming better  understood,  and  that  it  was  rapidly  pre- 
paring itself  to  discharge  the  task  which  had  been 
assigned  it  in  the  providence  of  God. 

For  several  years  after  the  division,  the  churches 
under  the  Care  of  the  Assembly  cordially  co-operated 
with  the  American  Home  Missionary  Society.  By 
the  Assembly  of  1838,  not  only  this,  but  the  American 
Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions  and  the 
American  Education  Society,  -were  recommended  to  all 
its  churches  as  suitable  channels  for  dispensing  their 
caarities.  In  1840  the  recommendation  was  renew'ed, 
tiiid  these  societies  were  pronounced  "  every  way  worthy 
of  patronage  and  support." 

But  previous  to  1847  it  was  found  that  the  American 
Home  Missionary  Society,  governed  by  its  rules  respect- 
ing co-operation,  and  without  the  local  knowledge  pos- 
sessed by  the  Presbyteries,  failed  in  repeated  instances 
to  extend  the  aid  to  feeble  enterprises,  or  to  the  mission- 
fields  of  Presbyteries,  which  the  emergency  demanded. 
A  Committee  on  Home  Missions  was  appointed,  and 
their  report  made  to  the  next  Assembly  (1849)  had 
respect  mainly  to  the  methods  necessary  to  promote 
the  efficiency  of  Presbyteries  in  mission-work,  supply- 
ing destitute  churches,  promoting  Sabbath-schools,  and 
securing  the  erection  of  suitable  houses  of  worship. 


560  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

Still,  there  were  fields  from  which  the  Presbyterian 
Church  was  virtually  excluded  by  the  rules  of  the 
vSociety.  The  Congregational  churches  in  similar  cases 
could  apply  to  the  American  Missionary  Association. 
The  Presbyterian  Church  had  no  such  supplementary 
agency;  for  in  good  faith  it  had  poured  its  undivided 
funds  into  the  treasury  of  the  Society.  In  successive 
years  (1852, 1853, 1857, 1858)  committees  of  conference 
with  the  Society  were  appointed,  having  in  view  some 
ax'rangement  by  which  feeble  churches  hitherto  denied 
aid  by  its  rules  might  be  provided  for.  If  the  Church 
was  to  sustain  itself  and  extend  its  domain,  it  could  not 
cast  off  these  organizations  which  aj^pealed  to  it  for 
aid,  while  Congregational  churches  in  a  like  condition 
could  receive  assistance  from  another  source. 

Meanwhile,  Presbyteries  were  recommended  to  take 
measures,  either  by  themselves  or.  by  the  aid  of  the 
Society,  for  the  organization  of  new  churches  and  the 
stated  preaching  of  the  gospel  to  destitute  churches 
whenever  the  circumstances  of  the  case  required  (1850), 
and  to  elect  standing  committees  on  church  extensiou 
annually,  whose  duty  it  should  be  to  see  that  the  claimn 
of  Home  Missions  were  presented  to  the  churches,  and 
to  recommend  the  ajjplications  made  for  aid.  It  was 
resolved  (1852)  that,  with  the  other  standing  committees, 
one  on  Home  Missions  should  be  annually  appointed  by 
the  Assembly,  to  be  known  by  the  name  of  the  Church 
Extension  Committee.  In  1855  the  number  of  the  com- 
mittee was  fixed  at  fifteen,  and  it  was  empowered  to  fill 
its  own  vacancies  when  the  Assembly  was  not  in  session. 
In  1857  the  committee  was  allowed  to  exercise  its  dis- 
cretion in  regard  to  the  aid  extended,  irrespective  of  the 
restrictions  by  which  it  bad  been  hitherto  bound.  The 
wisdom  of  granting  this  privilege  was  soon  justified 
by  the  refusal  of  the  American  Home  Missionary  So- 
ciety to  extend  aid  to  the  churches  of  Missouri,  and  by 


THE    TWO    ASSEMBLIES — CUiNCLUSION.  561 

its  declining  to  recognize  the  claims  of  the  Missouri 
Home  Missionary  Society  as  an  auxiliary. 

But,  with  the  denominational  zeal  that  liad  already 
been  aroused  at  the  West,  it  was  inevitable  that  cases 
should  occur  in  which  the  jealousy  of  Congregational 
churches  on  the  ground  would  take  offence  at  the  ex- 
tending of  that  aia  from  the  Society  which  Presby- 
terian ehui'ches  had  been  accustomed  to  receive,  and 
whic-h  they  felt  that  they  had  a  right  to  claim.  The 
Society  was  forced  by  the  pressure  of  circumstances  to 
adhere  to  its  rule,  that  all  the  home-mission  funds  of 
Presbyteries  whose  churches  received  aid  should  be 
poured  into  its  treasury ;  and  offence  was  taken  when 
extra  collections  for  the  special  aid  of  feeble  churches 
were  made  by  Presbyterian  churches,  even  while  their 
annual  conti-ibutions  to  the  Society  were  not  diminished. 
Unless  it  would  refuse  to  aid  the  churches  of  Presby- 
teries in  which  such  an  instance  occurred,  it  was  pub- 
licly threatened  by  the  organ  of  "Western  Congrega- 
tionalists  with  having  the  funds  which  it  derived  from 
New  England  diverted  from  its  treasury  and  applied 
directly  by  Congregationalists  at  the  West.  Alton  Pres- 
bytery, with  its  extended  mission-field,  for  which  an 
exploring  missionary  had  for  many  years  been  annually 
appointed,  was  one  of  the  first  to  complain  of  the  ap- 
plication of  a  rule  that  virtually  forbade  it  to  cultivate 
its  own  field.  Yet  to  abandon  it  in  its  extremity  would 
be  virtually  to  abandon  all  feeble  Presbyteries  and 
struggling  churches  which  the  Society  refused  to  aid. 
Such  a  policy  was  inadmissible,  suicidal;  and  the  As- 
sembly felt  itself  constrained  not  only  by  principles  of 
expediency,  but  the  obligations  of  duty,  to  reject  it. 
The  claims  of  the  Church  Extension  Committee  were 
presented  by  the  Assembly  to  the  churches,  and  were 
met  by  an  enlarged  sympathy  throughout  the  bounds 
of  the  Church. 


562  HISTORY    OF   PRESBYTERIANISM. 

The  affection  long  directed  toward  the  American 
Home  Missionary  Society  was  shaken  only  by  the  con- 
viction that  it  could  no  longer,  in  consistency  with  the 
rules  it  had  adopted  and  tlie  circumstances  in  which  it 
was  placed,  do  justice  to  the  claims  of  the  Presbyterian 
churches.  So  late  as  18G2,  the  Society  acknowledged 
the  receipt  of  nearly  forty  thousand  dollars  for  the 
previous  year  from  persons  known  to  be  Presbj'^terians, 
or  from  churches  connected  wuth  Presbyteries,  or 
places  where  there  was  known  to  be  only  a  Presby- 
terian church.  Yet  from  tins  sum,  or  from  any  con- 
siderable portion  of  it,  Pi-esb^'terian  churches  could 
derive  no  aid. 

But  already  (1861)  the  General  Assembly,  "in  ac- 
cordance with  the  obvious  indications  of  Divine  Provi- 
dence, and  agreeably  to  the  Constitution  of  the  Church," 
had  assumed  "  the  rcsjionsibility  of  conducting  the  work 
of  Home  Missions  within  its  bounds."  A  permanent 
committee,  known  as  the  Presbyterian  Committee  of 
Home  Missions,  to  be  located  in  New  York,  was  ap- 
pointed by  the  Assembly;  and  from  November,  1861, 
when  the  committee  commenced  operations,  to  the 
time  of  the  meeting  of  the  General  Assembly  in  the 
following  year,  more  than  twenty  thousand  dollars,  in 
addition  to  seven  thousand  dollars  secured  during  the 
preceding  six  months,  were  raised  to  enable  it  to  ex- 
tend its  efforts.  In  1863  the  amount  contributed  by 
the  churches  to  be  dispensed  through  the  same  channel 
was  nearly  fiftj'-two  thousand  dollars;  and  in  1864  it 
had  risen  to  over  seventy  thousand  dollars. 

The  measures  of  the  Assembly  resulting  in  the  esta- 
blishment of  a  permanent  Committee  on  Ministerial 
Education  date  from  1854.  In  respect  to  this  depart- 
ment of  Christian  effort  there  was  at  that  time  a  grow- 
ing conviction,  owing  to  the  apparent  failure  of  the 
oo-opei'ative  plan,  and  the  lack  of  sj'-stem  in  the  opera- 


THE    TWO    ASSEMBLIES — CONCLUSION.  563 

tions  of  Presbyteries  and  Synods,  that  something  should 
be  done  to  harmonize  the  plans  and  concentrate  the 
energ-ies  of  the  Church.  In  1856  the  committee  was 
appointed,  and  located  at  New  York.  In  1858  an  act 
of  incorporation  was  secured;  and  since  that  period  the 
Presbyteries  and  Sj-nods  have  largely  co-operated  with 
the  committee  in  their  work.  The  receipts  of  the  com- 
mittee for  1864  were  nearly  fifteen  thousand  dollars. 

In  1846  an  overture  on  the  subject  of  doctrinal  tracts 
was  presented  to  the  Assembly.  The  object  which  it 
had  in  view  was  favorably  regarded;  but,  although  it 
was  considered  by  several  successive  Assemblies,  it  was 
not  till  1852  that  a  standing  Committee  of  Publication 
was  appointed.  In  1853  the  number  of  the  committee 
was  enlarged,  and  measures  were  taken  to  secure  funds 
for  the  erection  of  a  house  of  publication.  In  1854  the 
number  w^as  again  enlarged,  so  as  to  consist  of  fifteen 
persons;  and  in  1855  the  name  of  the  committee  was 
changed  from  that  of  Doctrinal  Ti-act  Committee  to 
The  Presbyterian  Publication  Committee.  In  1857  they 
were  encouraged  by  the  Assembly  to  publish  "  such 
works  of  an  evangelical  character  as  may  be  profitable 
to  the  Chui-ch  at  large."  Meanwhile,  mainly  through 
the  liberality  of  a  member  of  the  Church  residing  in 
Philadelphia,^  a  house  of  publication  had  been  secured, 
and  the  publication  of  the  Chui'ch  Psalmist — authorized 
by  the  Assembly  for  the  use  of  the  churches — had  passed 
into  the  hands  of  the  committee.  In  1860  the  Assembly 
recommenced  an  effort  to  secure  a  working  capital  for 
the  business  of  publication,  and  authorized  the  com- 
mittee to  employ  an  agent  for  the  purpose.  Ko  marked 
progress  was  made  till  1863,  when  the  effort  was  made 
to  secure  a  fund  of  fifty  thousand  dollars.  Nearly 
three-fifths  of  this  amount  was  collected  before  April, 

'  John  A.  Brown,  Esq. 


ryJ4  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

ioJ-i;  and  by  the  Assembly  of  that  year  it  was  resolved 
to  prosecute  the  eftbrt  to  secure  the  whole  amount. 
The  importance  of  the  cause  was  more  generally  ap- 
preciated than  ever  before,  while  the  publications  of 
tiie  committee  enforced  its  claims  upon  the  patronage 
of  the  churches. 

The  actual  increase  of  the  aggregate  membership  of 
the  Church  at  large  during  the  period  that  has  elapsed 
since  the  division  has  by  no  means  been  proportioned 
to  the  real  progress  of  the  Church.  The  causes  which 
operated  to  reduce  its  numbers — viz.,  the  revived  zeal 
for  Congregationalism,  which  drew  off  no  inconsider- 
able element,  as  well  as  the  Southern  secession,  which 
resulted  in  the  withdrawal,  in  1858,  of  the  Synods  of 
Missouri,  Virginia,  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  West  Ten- 
nessee, and  Mississippi,  embracing  twenty-one  Presby- 
teries and  over  fifteen  thousand  members — have  been 
already  noticed.  But,  notwithstanding  these  adverse 
influences,  the  advance  from  1840  till  1864,  according  to 
the  reports  for  those  years  respectively,  was — of  Pres- 
byteries, from  eighty-nine  to  one  hundred  and  five ;  of 
ministers,  from  twelve  hundred  and  sixty  to  sixteen 
hundred  and  forty-four;  of  churches,  from  thirteen  hun- 
dred and  seventy-five  to  fourteen  hundred  and  forty- 
two;  and  of  members,  from  one  hundred  and  two  thou- 
sand and  sixty  to  one  hundred  and  thirty-eight  thou- 
sand and  seventy-four;  while  the  eflficiency  and  unity 
of  the  Church  as  a  body  had  been  vastly  increased. 

Its  growth  in  the  Western  States  for  a  considerable 
period  was  greatly  checked  in  consequence  of  the 
violent  manner  in  which  the  division  of  the  Church 
had  been  effected.  A  prejudice  was  created  against 
the  Presbyterian  system,  and  the  uncertainty  of  the 
future  policy  of  the  denomination  inspired  distrust  on 
the  part  of  some  who  might  otherwise  have  labored 
cordially  and  zealously  in  connection  with  it.    Mission- 


THE    TWO    ASSEMBLIL:S — CONCLUSION.  565 

aries  in  the  new  States  found  their  position  so  unfavor- 
hle  that  in  some  cases  tlicy  felt  constrained  to  abandon 
tlic  field.  It  was  occupied  in  repeated  instances  by 
men  Avho,  without  the  sympathy  of  the  New  England 
churches,  sought  to  build  up  religious  institutions  in 
which  the  friends  of  sound  doctrine  and  order  could 
repose  but  feeble  confidence.  In  spite  of  all  obstacles, 
however,  new  churches  were  formed  and  Presbyteries 
erected  at  an  early  period  in  the  new  States  of  Wis- 
consin, Iowa,  Minnesota,  and  Kansas,  as  well  as  in 
California.^ 

In  1861,  the  long-continued  agitation  of  the  slavery 
question  in  political  circles  culminated  in  the  secession 
of  State  after  State  from  the  Federal  Union,  and  the 
inauguration  of  a  "  Confederate"  Government,  based 
avowedly  on  slavery  as  its  corner-stone.  The  General 
Assembly  of  that  year  met  at  the  very  time  when  the 
first  actual  conflicts  of  the  desolating  war  that  has  fol- 
lowed had  taken  jjlace.  Resolutions  were  passed  ap- 
jJropriate  to  the  occasion,  and  a  da}^  was  appointed  to 
be  obseiwed  as  a  day  of  fasting,  humiliation,  and  prayer. 
In  1862  the  action  of  the  Assembly  evinced  its  stead- 
fast and  devoted  loyalty,  and  its  conviction  that  the 
entire  insurrectionary  movement  "can  be  traced  to  one 
2:)rimordial  root,  and  one  only, — African  slavery,  the 
love  of  it,  and  a  determination  to  make  it  perpetual." 
A  copy  of  the  resolutions  passed  by  the  Assembly,  and 
accompanied  by  a  respectful  letter,  was  forwarded  to 
the  President  of  the  United  States,  and  met  with  an 
appropriate  and  gratifying  response.  Iq  1863  the  As- 
sembl}^,  "  true  to  its  traditions,"  showed  itself  enthu- 
siastically loj'al  and  patriotic,  and  reiterated  the  testi- 
mony it  had  so  long  and  earnestly  borne  in  respect  to 


1  More  detailed  accounts  of  early  missionai-y  labor  in  these  States 
have  been  omitted,  from  the  necessary  limits  of  these  volumes. 
Vol.  II.— 48 


5t)G  HISTORY    OF    PRi:SCYTLUIA.MaM. 

the  evils  of  slavery,  and  in  vindication  of  the  prin- 
ciples vfhich  it  had  so  often  avowed.  In  186-i  the  As- 
sembly reaffirmed  the  principles  and  renewed  the  de- 
clarations of  previous  General  Assemblies,  so  far  as  ap- 
plicable to  the  state  of  public  affairs.  It  recognized 
the  hand  of  God  in  the  disappointments  and  delays  of 
the  war,  by  which  "  the  complete  destruction  of  the 
vile  system  of  human  bondage"  was  rendered  more 
sure.  It  made  acknowledgment  of  national  sins,  and 
exhorted  the  churches  to  prayer  for  the  deliverance 
of  the  land  and  the  prosperity  of  Christ's  knigdom 
through  the  blessings  of  national  peace  and  fraternity. 
It  expressed  its  cordial  sympathy  with  the  Government 
in  its  efforts  to  suppress  the  rebellion,  and  directed  that 
a  copy  of  its  resolutions,  duly  authenticated,  should  bo 
transmitted  to  the  President  of  the  United  States. 

The  terrible  crisis  of  civil  war  has  proved  a  trying 
one  to  the  Church;  but  it  was  a  crisis  for  which,  in  the 
providence  of  God,  it  had  been  wisely  prepared.  Its 
record  was  one  at  which  it  had  no  occasion  to  blush. 
It  had  allowed  in  its  annual  Assemblies  full  and  free 
discussion.  Of  the  resolutions  it  had  passed,  there  was 
not  one  line  which  it  could  wish  to  blot.  Not  a  single 
step  had  been  taken  w^hich  it  "needed  to  retrace.  While 
the  war  had  drawn  off"  large  numbers  of  its  member- 
ship to  the  scenes  of  actual  conflict,  and  deprived  the 
churches,  in  many  cases  weak  and  impoverished,  of 
their  presence  and  their  aid, — wdiile  not  a  few  of  its 
most  efficient  and  devoted  friends  had  fallen  in  battle, 
and  large  numbers  of  its  ministers  had  served  as  chap- 
lains in  the  army, — it  not  only  maintained  its  posi- 
tion, but  made  actual  advance  in  membership,  as  well 
as  a  large  increase  in  the  measure  of  its  charitable  con- 
tributions. 

A  fraternal  spirit  toward  the  other  branch  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  has  likewise  been  evinced  on  all 


THE    TWO    ASSEMBLIES — CONCLUSION.  567 

suitable  occasions.  In  1838  the  Assembly  declared 
their  willingness  to  "agree  to  any  reasonable  measures 
tending  to  an  amicable  adjustment  of  the  difficulties 
existing  in  the  Presbj^terian  Church."  In  1839,  to  avert 
all  unpleasant  controversy  and  prevent  all  unhappy 
litigation,  they  proposed  a  plan  of  amicable  settlement, 
whioh,  Avhile  securing  their  own  privileges  as  Presby- 
terians, relinquished  to  the  other  branch  of  the  Church 
"  all  chartered  rights,  institutions,  and  funds. "^  * 

In  1846  the  desire  for  union  was  expressed,  and  the 
proposal  of  a  mutual  recognition  of  each  other  as 
brethren  was  made  by  the  Assembly  to  the  members 
of  the  other  Assembly,  by  uniting  together  in  the 
communion  of  the  Lord's  Suj^per.  The  rejection  of 
this  proposal  produced  grief  rather  than  alienation; 
and  when  the  crisis  of  civil  war  arrived  and  the  South- 
ern churches  withdrew  from  their  connection  with  the 
other  Assembly,  the  prospect  of  reunion  appeared  more 
favorable.  Slavery  no  longer  presented  a  bar  to  mu- 
tual sympathy ;  both  Assemblies  had  been  brought  to 
stand  substantially  on  the  same  platform  of  ecclesias- 
tical missionary  policy;  while  from  the  first  they  had 
adhered  to  the  same  standards. 


The  other  branch  of  the  Church  was  left  at  the  time 
of  the  division  in  the  full  possession  and  in  the  energetic 
emplo3'ment  of  all  the  machinery  necessary  to  its 
equipment  for  its  proper  work  as  a  distinct  denomina- 
tion. It  embraced,  indeed,  some  elements  not  in  entire 
sympathy  Avith  it.  Quite  a  number  of  its  ministers 
and  members  were  dissatisfied  with  the  exscinding 
measures  of  1837 ;  and  some — like  Dr.  Spring,^  of  New 

1  Digest,  p.  562. 

*  Dr.  McDowell's  views  were  similar  to  those  of  Dr.  Sprang. 


568  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

York,  and  Dr.  Spencer,  of  Brooklyn — entered  against 
them  their  strong  and  decided  protest  A  considerable 
number  rather  accepted  than  approved  them,  and  in 
silent  acquiescence  adhered  to  a  body  whose  acts  they 
would  not  endorse.  The  unprecedented  methods  adopted 
by  those  who  chose  to  secure  their  legal  rights  by  in- 
terrupting the  proceedings  at  the  opening  of  the  As- 
^sembly  of  1838  repelled  them  from  connection  with 
the  body  to  which  they  properly  belonged,  and  induced 
them  finally  to  co-operate  more  or  less  heartily  with 
those  with  whom  they  were  still  ecclesiastically  con- 
nected. A  decided  anti-slavery  sentiment,  moreover, 
prevailed  in  certain  portions  of  the  bod}';  but  its  dis- 
turbing influence  was  restrained  by  the  overwhelming 
preponderance  of  the  party  which  contended,  in  behalf 
of  their  Southern  brethren,  that  the  subject  of  slavery, 
after  the  already  sufficient  utterances  of  the  General 
Assembly  on  the  subject,  should  be  left  in  their  hands. 
In  these  circumstances,  the  Church  proceeded  ener- 
getically in  the  prosecution  of  its  work.  Its  methods 
of  operation  inspired  confidence,  and  to  its  missionary 
enterprise  the  whole  Southern  field  was  open.  In  the 
new  States  of  Arkansas  and  Texas,^  as  well  as  in  Mis- 
souri, Louisiana,  Mississippi,  Alabama,  and  Georgia,  its 
pi'Ogress  was  steady,  and  in  some  cases  rapid;  while 
at  the  North  and  West  its  attitude  was  also  aggressive. 
Its  missions  to  foreign  lands  were  carried  on  with 
vigor  and  success  through  its  "Board  of  Foreign  Mis- 
sions;" its  educational  efforts  and  its  work  of  pub- 
lication made  steady  progress;  and  aid  to  feeble  con- 
gregations, in  the  erection  of  houses  of  worship,  wa.s 
bestowed  through  its  Board  of  Church  Extension. 
Its  membership,  which  in  1840  had  been  only  about 

*  Details  of  early  missionary  labor  in  Arkansas  and  Texas  havo 
been  omitted,  on  account  of  the  limits  of  the  woik. 


THE    TWO    ASSEMBLIES— CONCLUSION. 


569 


one  hundred  and  twenty-six  thousand,  had  risen  in 
1860  to  two  hundred  and  ninety-two  thousand  nine 
hundred  and  twenty-seven  ;  while  its  Presbyteries  had 
increased  from  ninety-five  to  one  hundred  and  seventy- 
one  its  ministers  from  thirteen  hundred  and  four  to 
two  thousand  six  hundred  and  fifty-six,  and  its  churches 
from  nineteen  liundred  and  eleven  to  three  thousand 
five  hundred  and  thirty-one.  _         ^ 

But,  unfortunately,  a  very  considerable  portion  of  its 
6tren.-th  was  within  the  limits  of  those  States  which 
in  1861  seceded  from  the  Federal  Union;  and  upon  the 
Assembly  of  that  year  the  long-deferred  question  of 
slavery    pressed   with    the   weight   of    an    avalanche. 
The    General   Assembly   could    not    evade   the   issue. 
It  mi"-ht,  indeed,  decline  to  recognize  loyalty  to  esta- 
blished government  as  a  Christian  virtue;  but,  if  it  did 
so  its  course  would  be  repudiated  by  the  great  mass 
of'  its  ^^orthern   constituents.     No  longer  blinded  by 
zeal  to  maintain  its  Southern  alliance,-the  prospects 
and  advantages  of  the  continuance  of  which  were  more 
than  questionable,-the  Assembly  vindicated  its  loyalty 
and  manifested  its  repugnance  to  a  rebellion  initiated 
in  the  interests  of  slavery,  by  appropriate  resolutions, 
which  were  passed  by  a  vote  of  one  hundred  and  fiity- 
Bix  yeas  to  sixty-six  nays.  ^ 

The  result  of  this  action  was  the  secession  of  tbe 
Southern  churches  and  Presbyteries  almost  in  a  body, 
and  the  formation  of  a  Southern  General  Assembly. 
The  membership  of  the  residuary  portion  of  the 
Church  was  thns  greatly  reduced;  and  in  1863,  accord- 
incr  to  the  report  of  that  year,  the  Church  numbered 
only  one  hundred  and  twenty-seven  Presbyteries  and 
two  hundred  and  twenty-seven  thousand  five  hundred 
and  seventy-five  members. 

In  these  circumstances,  the  disposition  in  favor  ot  a 
reunion  of  the  two  branches  of  tlio  Church  naturally 


570  HISTORY    OF    PRESBYTERIANISM. 

received  a  new  impulse.  Two  great  causes  of  aliena- 
tion had  been  removed, — the  desire  to  favor  the  South 
by  silence  on  the  subject  of  slavery,  on  one  side,  and 
hostility  to  ecclesiastical  missionary  organizations,  on 
the  other.  The  Assembly  of  1863  evinced  its  loyalty 
to  the  General  Government  and  its  fidelity  to  the  cause 
of  freedom  by  appropriate  resolutions,  and,  while  ex- 
pressing their  judgment  against  the  expediency  of  any 
decided  action  on  the  subject  of  reunion,  recognized 
the  fraternal  correspondence  which  had  been  opened 
with  the  " Constitutional "  General  Assembly  as  "initia- 
tive," and  as  instrumental  in  promoting  the  mutual 
charity  and  clearer  views  which  might  serve  to  prepare 
the  way  for  a  beneficent  union. 

The  Assemblies  of  186-4  both  evinced  a  fraternal  spirit, 
and  were  alike  outspoken  on  the  subjects  of  slavery  and 
of  loyalty  to  the  National  Government.  The  delegates 
of  each  to  the  other  were  courteously  and  kindly  re 
ceived,  and  it  was  felt  by  many  members  of  both  thi^ 
the  era  of  reunion  could  not  be  far  distant.  For  th© 
present,  however,  neither  body  was  prepared  to  recom- 
mend the  adoption  of  any  immediate  action,  but  was 
rather  disposed  to  leave  the  policy  of  the  future  to 
be  shaped  by  the  growing  spirit  of  mutual  Christian 
charity  and  the  wisdom  which  further  experience 
might  afford. 

For  years  to  come,  the  influence  of  the  sympathies 
and  prejudices  which  date  from  the  era  of  the  division 
will  in  certain  quarters  continue  to  be  felt.  But  already 
a  new  generation  has  entered  upon  the  stage,  and  the 
passions  of  the  past  are  yielding  to  the  cooler  judgment 
of  the  present.  Men  are  no  longer  identified  in  our 
estimate  with  the  measures  to  which,  under  the  press- 
ure of  circumstances,  they  lent  their  sanction.  We  can 
discern  errors  and  mistakes  of  which  their  authors 
were  unconscious,  and  we  can  make  due  allowance  for 


THE    TWO    ASSEMBLIES — CONCLUSION.  571 

men  who,  acting  as  they  believed  iVom  principle,  were 
yet  so  Avarped  in  their  views  as  to  diverge  from  the 
line  of  policy  which  the  ethics  of  the  gospel  would 
have  required  them  to  follow.  Adopting  the  same 
standards,  aiming  at  the  same  ends,  studying  the  same 
lesson,  reverencing  the  same  founders,  reading  the  same 
history,  the  members  of  both  branches  of  the  Church 
must  unconsciously  approximate,  till  the  line  of  sepa- 
ration between  them  becomes,  except  in  ecclesiastical 
organization,  ideal  and  intangible,  and  the  difficulties 
in  the  way  of  reunion  become  simply  those  of  con- 
venient and  effective  organization.  Hand  in  hand  they 
will  pursue  together  the  common  object  of  hastening 
forwai'd  by  evangelical  and  missionaiy  effort  that 
blessed  period  when  the  words  of  prophecy  shall  have 
been  fulfilled,  and  the  kingdoms  of  this  world  shall 
have  become  the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord  and  of  his 
Christ,  and  he  shall  reign  for  ever  and  ever. 

We  have  thus  traced  from  feeble  beginnings  the  rise 
and  progress  in  this  country  of  a  Christian  denomination 
which  has  attained  a  position  second  to  that  of  no  other 
in  social  influence,  intellectual  cultivation,  and  the  means 
of  extended  usefulness.  Its  history  is  largely  identified 
with  that  of  the  nation.  It  has  j^lanted  far  and  wide 
religious  as  well  as  literary  institutions,  under  which 
millions  have  been  trained.  It  has  evinced  its  unswerv- 
ing patriotism  and  loyalty  during  the  most  trying  periods 
of  our  national  existence.  It  has  sent  forth  to  take  their 
places  at  the  bar,  in  the  senate,  or  in  the  pulpit,  men 
whom  it  has  educated,  of  whom  the  nation  may  well  be 
proud,  and  whose  names  it  will  not  willingly  let  die. 
Its  annals  are  enriched  with  the  frequent  records  of 
that  heroism  which  has  characterized  the  efforts  of 
pioneer  missionaries  and  self-denying  pastors  to  evan- 
gelize the  land  and  speak  in  the  ears  of  heedless  men 
the  words  of  eternal   life.     Throughout   the   Middle, 


i)iZ  HISTOnV    OF    PRESBYTERIANIS:*!. 

Western,  and  Southern  States  there  is  searcely  a  nook 
or  corner  to  which  the  representatives  of  its  faith  and 
order  have  not  i)enetrated,  bearing  with  them,  wherever 
they  have  gone,  the  jjrinciples  of  sound  morality  and  the 
intelligence  of  a  large-hearted  Christian  manhood. 

From  the  earliest  period  the  Church  has  been  the 
tried  and  consistent  friend  of  civil  and  religious  freedom. 
Suffering  for  a  time,  in  certain  portions  of  the  land,  from 
the  intolerance  that  pursued  her  across  the  ocean,  she 
learned,  almost  in  her  cradle,  to  detest  and  rebuke  the 
iniquity  that  would  thrust  her  beneath  the  blighting 
shadow  of  a  State-Church  establishment.  In  the  Revo- 
lutionary struggle  she  could  boast  her  Witherspoon, 
Rodgers,  Caldwell,  Read,  and  Duffield,  representatives 
of  scores  of  others  true  as  steel  to  their  country's  cause. 
Liberal  in  spirit,  and  not  unfrequently — especially  in 
the  early  part  of  the  jiresent  century — open  to  the 
charfife  of  laxness  in  ecclesiastical  order,  she  has  com- 
bined  in  an  admirable  measure  attachment  to  sound 
doctrine  with  a  generous  recognition  of  other  branches 
of  the  Church,  and  a  hearty  co-operation,  so  far  as  cir- 
cumstances would  warrant,  in  plans  of  charitable  and 
missionary  effort  in  behalf  of  a  perishing  world.  And 
now,  embracing  in  her  communion  (under  both  Assem- 
blies) a  membership  of  nearly  four  hundred  thousand, 
with  a  full  equipment  of  schools,  colleges,  seminaries, 
and  missionary  and  charitable  organizations  at  her 
command,  she  is  manifestly  better  prepared  than  ever 
before  for  the  great  work  to  Avhich  the  providence  of 
God  has  called  her,  and  the  future  destinies  of  the 
country  cannot  fail  to  feel  the  impress  of  her  shaping 
hand. 

It  is  not  to  be  disguised  that  some  mistakes  have 
been  committed, = — that  there  are  passages  in  the  history 
of  the  Church  which  we  peruse  with  saddened  hearts 
and  with  feelings  of  regret.     But  even  these  may  yield 


THE    TWO    ASSEMBLIES — CONCLUSION.  573 

US  their  lessons,  and  afford  richer  contributions  for 
future  guidance  than  more  inviting  portions  of  the 
record.  I  have  endeavored  to  present  them  with  im- 
partial fidelity  J  yet  the  conclusions  of  the  historian 
most  unbiassed  are  ever  based,  from  the  necessities  of 
the  case,  on  a  partial  acquaintance  with  all  the  facts 
that  are  important  to  the  formation  of  a  correct  judg- 
ment; and  history  itself  is  ever  only  a  nearer  or  more 
remote  approximation  to  the  truth. 

It  is  well  that  the  Presbyterian  Church,  moving 
manifestly  on  to  a  more  wonderful  future,  should  be 
made  familiar  with  its  past  career.  It  needs  the  lights 
of  experience  to  guide  its  steps.  With  these  shining 
upon  its  path,  and  with  the  providence  of  God  leading 
it  on  and  still  onward  to  more  extended  usefulness  and 
to  enlarged  plans  of  effort,  its  future  can  scarcely  fail 
to  furnish  even  more  inviting  and  wonderful  records 
than  its  past.  Our  nation  is  still  in  its  youth.  In  its 
present  gigantic  conflict  it  reminds  us  of  a  Hercules 
strangling  the  serpent  even  in  his  cradle ;  and  it  is  not 
a  mere  fond  fancy  that  our  Church  is  destined  also  to 
grow  with  its  growth  and  strengthen  with  its  strength. 
And  when  this  broad  continent,  restored  to  peace  and 
a  unity  secured  and  perpetuated  by  just  government, 
shall  be  overspread  from  ocean  to  ocean  with  the  in- 
stitutions of  civilization,  learning,  and  religion,  when 
our  rapidly-multipl3'ing  millions,  swelled  by  accessions 
from  foreign  lands,  shall  cover  hill  and  valley,  shore 
and  sea,  with  the  testimonials  and  triumjihs  of  their 
enterprise,  the  Christian  patriot  can  invoke  for  its 
lasting  prosperity  no  pledge  more  fitting  to  inspire 
hope  and  confidence  than  the  prevalence  of  those  prin- 
ciples of  Avhich  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  this  land 
has  shown  itself  to  be  a  worthy  representative  and  u 
faithful  guardian. 


574  HISTORY    OF   PRESBYTERIANISM. 

Ten  years  have  elapsed  since  the  preceding  paragraphs 
of  this  concluding  chapter  of  the  history  were  written. 
The  anticipation  of  the  reunion  of  the  two  branches  of  the 
Church,  which  was  expressed  in  them,  has  been  accom- 
plished. By  an  evident  preconcert  on  the  part  of  leading 
minds  on  both  sides,  St.  Louis  was  selected  as  the  place  of 
meeting  for  the  two  Assemblies  of  1866.  Steps  were  then 
taken  which  led  to  the  appointment  of  a  joint-committee 
representing  the  two  bodies,  to  which  the  subject  of  reunion 
was  given  in  charge.  Year  by  year  progress  was  made  in 
overcoming  the  difficulties  that  stood  in  the  way  of  reunion, 
until,  in  1869,  the  two  Assemblies,  acting  in  concert,  met 
alike  in  the  city  of  New  York,  and  adopted  such  measures 
as  were  necessary  to  perfect  the  work.  In  1870,  a  single 
General  Assembly  at  Philadelphia  represented  the  united 
Church,  in  which  were  now  combined  long-separated  ele- 
ments, no  longer  estranged,  but 

"  Like  kindred  drops  commingled  into  one." 

The  narrative  of  the  reunion,  with  the  enthusiasm  it 
excited  and  the  liberality  it  called  forth,  adds  another,  and 
by  no  means  the  least  interesting,  chapter  to  the  history  of 
the  Church,  but  it  belongs  to  the  annalist  of  the  future  to 
present  in  their  proper  bearings  and  relations  the  facts  of 
whose  full  significance,  by  reason  of  our  nearness  to  them, 
we  are  incapacitated  to  judge. 


INDEX. 


Abeel,  Rev.  Jeremiah,  i.  420. 
Abercrombie,  Rev.  Robert,  ii.  101,  102. 
Abernethv,  Rev.  John,  of  Antrim,  i.  49,  51. 
Abington;  Pa.,  i.  34,  63,  137,  309,  492,  508. 
Achor,  Kv.,  ii.  155. 
"  Act  of  Testimony"  of  18.34,  ii.  487,  489. 

Princeton  Review  on,  ii.  489. 
Adams,  Rev.  Mr.,  of  Charleston,  S.C,  i.  242. 

Rev.  James,  i.  503. 

Rev.  James  B.,  ii.  393. 

Rev.  James  S.,  ii.  56. 

Rev.  Jasper,  ii.  92. 

Rev.  John.  i.  308. 

Rev.  John  W.,  ii.  269. 

Rev.  W'ra.,  ii.  97. 

Rev.  Dr.  Wm.,  Ii.  254. 
Addison,  Alexander,  i.  329. 
Adopting  Act,  i.  47, 55 ;  overture  for  it,  53 ; 
committee  to  prepare  it,  55;  solution  of 
scruples  about,  56;  interpretation  of, 57  ; 
discussion  of,  100;  objected  to  in  Eng- 
land, 129 ;  accepted  in  1758,  138. 
African  mission  pioposed,  i.  169. 
Agnew,  Rev.  Dr.  J.  H.,  ii.  435. 
Aiken,  Rev.  Dr.,  S.C,  ii.  289. 
Aikman,  Rev.  Robert,  i.  561. 
Aim  well,  S.C,  ii.  63,  211. 
Akron,  Ky.,  i.  418. 
Alabama,  ii.  342,  361,  389-392. 
Alamance,  N.C.,  i.  226,  236;  ii.  44. 
Albany,  i.  147,  151,  154,  194,  379,  381,  386, 

390,  484:  ii.  99,  243,  250,  258,  269. 
Alburtis,  Rev.  John,  ii.  250,  258. 
Alcovia,  Ga.,  ii.  69. 
Aklen,  Rev.  Lucius,  ii.  401. 

Rev.  Timothy,  i.  .534. 
Alexander,  Prof.  Addison,  ii.  502. 

Rev.  Dr.  Archibald,  i.  281,  341,  349, 351, 
354,  462, 465,  567  ;  ii.  27,  28,  221,  269, 
503,  505,  508. 

Rev.  Caleb,  ii.  269. 

Rev.  David,  i.  76. 

Rev.  Dr.  James  W.,  ii.  252. 

Rev.  Jesse,  ii.  333. 

Rev.  Joseph,  i.  155, 188,  228,  237,  355; 
ii.  60,  67. 

Rev.  Joseph  T.,  ii.  387. 

Rev.  S.  R.,  ii.  413. 

Rev.  Thomas,  ii.  383,  392,  413,  432. 
Alexandria,  D.C.,  i.  3:i4,  337  ;  ii.  15,  21,  30. 

N.J..  i.  30.3,  572. 

Pa.,  i.  512. 
i\  lison.  Rev.  Dr.  Francis,  i .  64. 76, 84, 97, 105, 
109,  i:  6,  138,  143,  162,  163. 

Hector,  i.  98,  386. 
Allan,  Rev.  Dr.  John.  ii.  .392. 
Alleghany  City  (see  Theolog.  Seminary), 

i.  509,  515. 


Alleghany  College,  i.  534. 
Alleine's  •'Alarm,"  i.  4US. 
Allen,  Rev.  Carey  H.,  i.  281,  349,  353,  406, 
407;  ii.  155. 

Rev.  Edward,  i.  562. 

Rev.  Ethan,  i.  194. 

Rev.  H.,  ii.  382. 

Rev.  Moses,  i.  195,  518,  526;  ii.  70. 

Rev.  Solomon,  ii.  108. 

Rev.  Pres.  Win.,  ii.  107. 
Allentown,  N.J.,  i.  63,  91,  302,  303,  562. 

Pa.,  i.  311,  473. 
Allison,  Rev.  Dr.  Patrick,  i.  144,  157,  181, 

270,  278,  3.34,  335;  ii.  14,  23. 
Ambler,  Rev.  J.  B.,  ii.  259. 
American  Education  Society,  ii.  491,  513 
Ames,  Fisher,  i.  273. 
Amitv,  N.C.,  ii.  56. 

P"a.  (see  Ten-Mile),  i.  521,  527. 
Amsterdam,  N.Y.,  ii.  258. 

Coffee-House,  London,  i.  131. 
Amwell,  N.J.,  i.  95,  303,  572. 

S.C,  i.  362. 
Anderson,  Rev.  Alexander,  ii.  177. 

Rev.  Dr.  Isaac,  i.  469;  ii.  206,  318,  321, 
332. 

Rev.  James,  i.  28,  34,  .38, 108, 135,  156. 

Rev.  John,  i.  519,  522,  533 ;  ii.  250. 

Rev.  Dr.  John,  i.  320. 

Rev.  Dr.  John,  i.  330. 

Rev.  Josepli,  i.  331,  519,  524,  533;  ii. 
397. 

Robert  H.,  ii.  30. 

Hon.  S.  C,  ii.  512. 
Andes,  N.Y.,  ii.  2?«. 
Andover  Seminary,  i.  552. 
Andrews,  Rev.  Jedediah,  i.  18,  20,  24,  34, 
53,  61,  61,  06,  80,  81,  138. 

Rev.  Jolin.  ii.  55. 

Rev.  J.  Ii.,  i.  561. 

Rev.  Wells,  ii.  15,  17,  22,  30. 
Angelica,  N.Y.,  ii.  104. 
Ann  Arbor,  Mich.,  ii.  440,  441. 
"Anti-Revival"  men  in  Kentucky,  ii.  175^ 

194,  195. 
Anti-slavery  societies,  ii.  623. 
Appeals  scrupled,  i.  273. 
Appoquinimy,  Del.,  i.  34,  97.  98. 
Acjuabogue,  L.l.,  i.  369 ;  ii.  95. 
Archibald,  Rev.  Robert,  i.  355,  357. 

Rev.  T.,  ii.  .381. 
Ariaiiisni  in  London,  i.  51. 
Arkansas,  ii.  568. 
Arminianisni,  ii.  497. 

in  Kentucky,  ii.  1.58,  174,  178,  18i 
Armstrong,  Rev.  Amzi,  i.  303,  557,  562. 

Rev.  James  F.,  i.  186,  302,  563. 

Rev.  Lebbeus,  ii.  259. 

,575 


576 


INDEX. 


Armstrong,  Rev.  Dr.  Wm.  J.,  ii.  32. 

Rev.  Mr.,  i.  413. 
Arnold,  Rev.  Jolin,  i.  390. 
Arnot,  Rev.  Andrew,  ii.  233. 
Arthur,  Rev.  Thomas,  i.  95. 

AVm.,  ii.  2. 
Ashmead,  Rev.  AVm.,  ii.  65. 
Ashpole,  N.C.,  ii.  52. 
Ashtabula,  0.,  i.  538. 
Ashville,  N.C.,  ii.  56. 
Assembly.     See  General. 
"  Assembly's  Magazine,"  i.  442. 
Associated  Presbyteries,  history  of,  i.  207- 
218,  274. 

Presbytery  of  Morris  county,  ii.  98. 
Associate  "Presbyterian  Church,  ii.  103. 

plan  of  correspondence  with,  i.  202. 
Associate  Reformed  Church,  ii.  214,  233. 

correspondence  with,  ii.  231. 

history  of,  ii.  233-235. 

union  with,  ii.  232. 
Athens,  Ga.,  i.  571 ;  ii.  69,  383,  388. 

Ohio,  ii.  128, 153. 
Aton,  Rev.  A.,  ii.  292. 
Attica,  N.Y.,  ii.  110. 

Auburn,  N.Y.,  ii.  104,  269,  281.    See  Con- 
vention. 

Theological    Seminary,   i.   557.     See 
Theological  Seminary. 
Augusta,  Ya.,  i.  lOS,  347,  353;  u.  27,  28,  29. 

Ga..  ii.  64,  69,  387. 
Aurelius,  N.Y.,  ii.  107, 108. 
Aurora,  O.,  ii.  139. 
Austin,  Rev.  David,  i.  289. 

Rev.  Joel  N.,  ii.  259. 
Austinburg,  0.,  ii.  134,  139,  142. 
Austinville,  Va.,  i.  422. 
Averv,  Rev.  Mr.,  ii.  111. 
Axteil,  Rev.  Dr.  Henry,  ii.  269. 
Ayer,  Rev.,  ii.  110. 
A.yres,  Rev.  Enos,  i.  95,  153. 

Babbit,  Rev.  Amzi,  ii.  2. 

Rev.  C.  W.,  ii.  422. 
Babylon,  L.I.,  i.  194. 
Back  Creek,  Va.,  i.  109,  321.  349. 
Backus,  Rev.  Dr.  Azel,  i.390;  ii.  267,  282. 
Rev.  Dr.  J.  C,  ii.  15. 
Rev.  Dr.  J.  T.,  ii.  258. 
Bacon,  Rev.  David,  i.  332;  ii.  137. 

Rev.  Dr.  Leonard,  ii.  469. 
Badger,  Rev.  Joseph,  i.  IS  8,  332,  528,  536, 

538,  543:  ii.  131,  141,  142,  2S6,  437. 
Bailey,  Rev.  Benjamin,  ii.  96. 
Baird,  Rev.  Thomas  D.,  i.  522;  ii.  61,  63. 

Rev.  ^V.,  ii.  388. 
Baird's,  N.C.,  ii.  46. 

Baker,  Rev.  Dr.  Daniel,  ii.  17,  20,  22,  28, 
30,  41. 
Rev.  John  W.,  ii.  388. 
Balch,  Rev.  Ilezekiah,  i.  155,  228,  234,  356, 
367,  423,  427,  4.32,  434;  ii.  200,  201, 
205. 
Rev.  James,  i.  155,  157,  235,  237. 
Rev.  James,  i.  234,  356,  420,  423,  469; 

ii.  158,179,  201,400. 
Rev.  Dr.  Stephen  B.,  i.  191,  334,  338, 
340,  46S;  ii.  15,  17. 
Balch.  Rev.  Thomas  B.,  ii.  13. 
Baldridge,  Rev.  S.,  ii  414. 


Baldwin,  Rev.  Dr.  Elihu  W.,  11. 98, 228, 252, 
413. 
Rev.  Methuselah,  i.  154,  380. 
Rev.  Theron.  ii.  419,  420,  422. 
Rev.  Mr.,  ii.  102. 
Ball,  Rev.  Eliphalet,  i.  95,  146,  150. 

Rev.  J.  S.,  ii.  432. 
Ballantine,  Rev.  Elisha,  Ii.  39. 

Rev.  Mr.,  ii.  1. 
Ballston,  i.  151,  385,  389;  ii.  258. 
Baltimore,  i.  144,  335 ;  ii.  14,  16. 
Banks,  Rev.  D.,  ii.  257. 

Rev.  D.  C,  ii.  400,  404,  407. 
Baptism,  infant,  rejected,  ii.  175. 
Barbacue  Church,  N.C.,  i.  222;  il.  45. 
Barbour,  Governor,  i.  344. 
Barclav,  Rev.  David,  i.  504,  563. 
Bard.  Rev.  David,  i.  321,  501. 
Barfield,  Rev.  Abraliam,  i.  390. 
Barlow,  Joel,  i.  292 ;  his  Revision  of  Watts, 

i.  409. 
Barnes,  Rev.  Albert,  ii.  460,  465-180,  484, 
492,  526 ;  his  '■  Notes,"  473,  478.  479 ; 
sermon  on  the  Way  of  Salvation,  460, 
466,  484 :  charges  against,  473,  474 
(see  Trial);   suspended   by  Synod, 
477 ;  his  appeal  sustained,  478 ;  his 
"  Notes  on  Romans,"  637. 
Kev.  J.  C,  Ii.  319,  358. 
Rev.  J.  R.,  ii.  404. 
Rev.  Romulus,  ii.  422. 
Rev.  S.  v.,  ii.  290. 
Barr,  Rev.  David,  1.  355,  365 ;  Ii.  55. 

Rev.  Hugh,  ii.  392. 
1^        Rev.  Joseph,  i.  493. 

Rev.  Samuel,  1.  266.  323. 
Rev.  Thomas,  ii.  131, 139, 142-146,297. 
Rev.  Wm.  II.,  ii.  63,  74. 
Barrow,  Rev.  E.  P.,  ii.  254. 
Barton,  Rev.  W.  B.,  i.  562;  ii.  407. 
Bascom.  Rev.  F.,  ii.  422. 
Baskingridge,  N.J.,  1.  63,  91,  95,  303.  570, 

572. 
Batavia,  N.Y.,  ii.  108,  262. 
E«tes,  Rev.  Dr.  Wm.,  1.  174. 
Bath,  N.Y.,  ii.  269. 

0.,  ii.  151. 
Biiton  Rouge,  ii.  379. 

Baxter,  Rev.  Dr.  G.  A.,  i.  348,468;  ii.  20,  38, 
42,  2.39,  497,  503,  507,  509,  511. 
Rev.  Richard,  i.  174. 
Bay,  Rev.  Andrew,  i.  96,  3S7. 
Beach  Spring,  0.,  i.  526,  533. 

Church,  Ky.,  ii.  155. 
Bear  Creek,  Pa.,  1.  528. 
Beattv,  Rev.  Charles,  1.  90,  91,  251,  2.52. 

Rev.  Dr.  C.  C,  i.  526;  ii.  292,  297. 
Beavertown,  ii.  142,  284. 
Beck.  Rev.  John,  i.  355. 
Bedford.  N.H.,  ii.  102. 

N.Y.,  i.  12,  90,  95,  150,  152,  379;  ii.  99, 

380. 
Pa.,  i.  321,  322,  494. 
Bee,  Rev.  Thomas,  ii.  92. 
Bcecher,  Rev.  Dr.  Lvman,  i.  .369,  451 ;  ii. 

96  351,  457,  460,  462-465,  480,  484. 
Beer,  Rev.  Joshua,  ii.  1.39,  142,  284. 
Beers,  Rev.  Daniel,  ii.  96. 
Beersheba,  N.C.,  11.  56,  62. 
Belcher,  Governor,  1.  126. 


INDEX. 


577 


Belfast  Socipfv,  i.  49. 
Bell,  Kev.  llainiltoii.  i.  92. 

Kev.  I,.  IJ.,  ii.  ;W2,  42^. 

Rev.  Samuel,  ii.  4. 
Belliiinv,  Kev.  Dr.  Jusepli,  i.  S7, 95, 122, 125. 
Bcllelunte,  Ph.,  i.  001. 
lie!  pre,  0.,  ii.  121. 
Belville,  Rev.  J.  N.,  ii.  291. 

Rev.  Robert  B.,  i.  493. 
Bemaii,  Rev.  C,  ii.  387. 

Rev.  Dr.  N.  S.  S.,  ii.  269,  277,  448,  484, 
503,  504,  507,  508,  509,  530. 
Bensalein.  Pa.,  i.  311,  492. 
Benson,  Rev.  Dr.,  i.  129. 
Berdt,  Mr.,  i.  128. 

Bergen,  Rev.  J.  G.,  i.  562;  ii.  420,  421. 
Bermuda,  i.  95,340:  ii.  16. 
Berrv,  Rev.  R.  T.,  i.  339. 
Bertron,  Rev.  S.,  i.  486. 
Bethanv,  Ga.,  i.  362;  ii.  68,  382. 

Ind.,  ii.  402,  403. 

N.C.,  ii.  53,  55,  56,  79. 

S.C,  ii.  63. 

Tenu.,  ii.  211. 
Bethberei,  Tenn.,  ii.  212. 
Betliel,  Ky.,  i.  408;  ii.  155. 

Md.,  i.  335;  ii.  5, 17. 

N.C.,  ii.  54,  56. 

Pa.,  i.  323,  522. 

S.C,  i.  2.32;  ii.  61,  62,  210. 

Tenn.,  ii.  212. 

Va.,  i.  346,  348;  ii.  27,  29,  42. 

Church,  ii.  27,  28. 
Bethesda,  .Md..  ii.  17. 

N.C.,  ii.  4.5,  40,  56,  62. 

Oliio,  ii.  2Si. 

Tenn.,  ii.  211. 
Bethlehem,  Ind.,  ii.  404. 

N.,I.,  i.  303,  .572. 

N.V.,i.  15.3,  380. 

Pa.,  i.503. 
Bethphage,  N.C.,  ii.  65. 
Bethsaida,  Tenn.,  ii.  212. 
Bett-s,  Rev.  A.  II.,  ii.290,  296. 
Beulah,  i.  529;  ii.  126,  142. 
Bible  cause,  ii.  237,  334. 

clii.sses,  i.  571. 

societies,  i.  552. 

Society,  American,  ii.  217. 
Big  Indian,  0.,  ii.  126. 

Sandv,  mouth  of,  ii.  126. 

Spring,  Ky.,  i.  418. 

Spring,  Pa.,  i.  322,  527. 

Sugar  Creek,  i.  523. 
Bigss,  Rev.  Thomas  .1.,  i.  493. 
Bingham,  Rev.  Luther  G.,  ii.  291. 

Rev.  Wm.,  i.  234,  238. 
Bird.  Kev.  T.  L..  ii.  16. 
Bird,  Va.,  i.  .340;  ii.  29. 
Bisliop,  Rev.  David,  i.  572. 

Rev.  Dr.  K.  II.,  ii.  •2{)2,  298,  303. 

Rev.  Prof.  G.,  ii.  413. 
Black,  Kev.  James,  ii.  30. 

Rev.  John,  i.  .320,  322;  ii.  41. 

Kev.  Samuel,  i.  121. 
Blackburn,  Rev.  Dr.  Gideon,  i.  423, 429, 446, 
469,486,  576;  ii.  200,  201,  207,  211, 
308,  318,  325,  326,  369,  425. 

Rev.  John  N.,  ii.  326. 
Black  Lick,  Pa.,  i.  326. 

Vol.  II.— 49 


Black  River,  N.C.,  i.366;  ii.45. 
Itlaikwater,  Md.,  ii.  11,12. 
Bladeu.-iluMg,  i.  334,  .340;  ii,  16,  17, 19. 
Blair.  Kev.  John.  i.  90,  109,  115,  153. 

Rev.  John  D.,  i.  341.  342:  ii.  27,  .31. 

Rev.  Samuel,  i.  02,  75,  76,  79,  90,  93, 
117,  137,156,157:  ii.  3. 
Blandford,  .Ma.ss.,  ii.  102.  133. 
Blatchford,  Rev.  Henry,  ii.  250. 

Rev.  John,  ii.  259. 

Rev.  Dr.  Samuel,  i.  396, 464 ;  ii.  99,  226, 
269,  279,  542. 
Blendon,  0..  ii.  127. 
Blis.s,  Rev.  Stephen,  ii.  418. 
Bloonifield,  N.J.,  i.  562,  574. 

N.Y.,  i.  399;  ii.  108. 
Blooming  Grove,  i.  95,  1.53. 
Bloomington,  Ind.,  ii.  401,  403. 
Bloonisburg,  Pa.,  i.  502. 
Blount  College,  i.  430;  ii.  201. 
Blue  Spring,  Ky.,  i.  408:  ii.  155. 
Blue  Stone,  Va.,  i.  341 :  ii.  29. 
Blytlie,  Rev.  Dr.  James,  i.  276, 349,  353, 408, 
412,  414,  455,  469;  ii.  155,  1.57,  169, 
180,  199,  301,  .302,  303,  413,  497. 

Rev.  Joseph  W.,  i.  514. 

Rev.  S.  D.,  ii.  291. 
Board  of  Domestic  Missions  (see  Missions), 

ii.  210,  22.5,  446,  450. 
Board  of  Education,  ii.  226,  .355,  446. 
Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  ii.  493,  514. 
Boardnian,  Rev.  G.  S.,  ii.  402,  406. 

Rev.  Wm.,  ii.  96,  258. 
Bogart,  Rev.  David  S.,  i.  369,  390 ;  ii.  96. 
■Uoggs,  Rev.  John,  i.  504,  563. 
Bohemia  Manor,  Md.,  i.  42. 
Boies,  Rev.  Artemas,  ii.  65. 
Booge,  Rev.  A.  J.,  i.  391. 
Boone,  Daniel,  ii.  122. 
Boothbay,  Me.,  ii.  102. 
Boston,  i.  19,  76. 

ministers,  i.  88. 
Boston's  "  Fourfold  State,"  i.  112. 
Bostwick,  Rev.  David,  i.  105. 
Bound  Brook.  N.J.,  i.  96,  302,  303,  558,  563. 
Bovelle.  Rev.  John  N.,  ii.  212. 

Rev.  Stnr.1,..-   ii  "m    212,  395,  401. 
Bowling  Green,  Ky.,  ii.  ^?9 
Bowman,  Rev.  James,  i.  364. 

Rev.  James  H.,  ii.  4.5,  318. 

Rev.  John,  i.  357, 362,  419 ;  ii.  157. 173, 
180. 
I  Bovd,  Rev.  Abraham,  i.  528. 
"  Rev.  Adam,  i.  42,  186. 

Rev.  Alexander,  i.  492,  494. 

Rev.  Benjamin,  i.  529;  ii.  142. 

Rev.  James,  i.  157,  279,  287,  .311,  492. 
I  Rev.  James,  i.  529;  ii.  139,  142. 

I  Rev.  John,  i.  528,  572. 

I  Rev.  John,  i.  18,  28. 

!         Rev.  Wm.,  i.  .302:  ii.  104. 

Rev.  Wm.  A.,  i.  502. 
Bracken,  Rev.  Reed,  i.  529. 
Brackenridge,  Rev.  John,  i.  340  ;  ii.  16,  17, 

19. 
Bracket,  Rev.  J.,  ii.  259. 
Bradbury,  Rev.  Eldridge,  i.  494. 
Bradford,  Rev.  Ebenezer,  i.  211. 
Bradley,  Rev.  Joel,  ii.  258. 

Rev.  Wm.,  ii.  263. 


INDEX. 


Bradnor.  Rev.  Bcnoni,  i.  153. 

Rev.  John,  i  29,  152 
Bradshaw,  Rev,  A  ,  ii  333. 

C,  ii   321 
Br.iineril.  Tenn.,  ii  320. 
Bniiuerd  Rev.  Diivid,  i.  91,  94,  96,  124,  160. 

Kcv.  Israel  ii.  Ill 

Rev.  .luiiu   i  93,  160,  251,  277. 
Bruudvwiiie  i.  64;  ii  4,5. 
Ureadall.aiu-,  N  \'.,  i  SS2,  .390. 
Brecliinridge,  Hon  John,  i  405. 

Rev   Di.  John,  i  340;  ii.  15,  16,  17,  19, 
305,  310. 

Rev  Dr.  Robert  J.,  ii.  15,  39,  476,  477, 
48S,  497,  603,  507,  508,  514,  528. 

Rev   Dr  W.  L.,  ii.  .537,  538,  539. 
Brewster,  Kev.  Nathaniel,  i.  33. 
Biice.  Kev.  Joliii,  i.  206,  324,  331. 
Biich.  Rev.  John,  ii.  418. 
Bri.l^-ehampton,  i.  3-3,  95,  369,  376;  ii.  96. 
Bridgeton,  N.J.,  i.  311,  472. 
Brier  Creek,  i.  502. 
Briery,  Va.,  i.  340,  342,  354 ;  ii.  27. 
Briggs,  Rev.  T.  J.,  ii.  513. 
Bristol,  Me.,  ii.  102. 
"  British  Spy,"  i.  342,  344. 
Broadaway,  S.C,  ii.  60,  61. 
Brookfield,  ii.  97. 

Brookhaven,  L.I.,  i.  95,  367  ;  ii.  96. 
Brooklyn,  LI.,  ii.  97. 
Brooks,  Rev.  Asa,  i.  50 1. 

Rev.  Ebeuezer,  ii.  9. 

Rev.  J.  F.,  ii.  419. 

Rev.  J.  H.,  ii.  .332. 

Rev.  R.,  ii.  422. 
Brookville,  0.,  ii.  151. 
Brotherton,  i.  368. 
Brown,  Rev.  Andrew,  ii.  62. 

Rev.  Daniel,  ii.  61,  73. 

Rev.  Dr.  Duncan,  ii.  63,  73,  211,  212, 
318,  332. 

Rev.  I.  v.,  i.  .563. 

Rev.  James,  i.  95. 

Rev.  John,  i.  110, 156,  187,  345. 

Rev.  Dr.  John,  i.  188,  362,  363,  460 ;  ii. 
61,  72,  .385. 

Rev.  Dr.  Matthew,  i.  467,  501,  521. 

Rev.  Neheiniah,  ii.  96. 

Rev.  Richard,  ii.  290. 

Rev.  Samuel,  i.  347 ;  ii.  27,  29,  42,  397, 
414. 

Rev.  Thomas,  ii.  3-32. 
Brown  Marsh,  N.C.,  ii.  45. 
Brown's  Church  (see  Hebron,  A'a.),  ii.  27, 

29. 
Brownlee,  Rev.  Dr.  W.  C,  i.  572. 
Bruce,  Rev.  John,  ii.  142,  284. 
Bruen,  Rev.  M.,  ii.  2.54. 
Bruingt(jn,  Ga.,  ii.  64. 
Brush  Creek,  0.,  ii.  126. 
Bryson,  Rev.  John,  i.  501,  502. 

Rev.  Samuel,  i.  501. 
Buchanan,  Pa.,  i.  504. 
Buchanan.  Rev.  James,  i.  494. 
Buck,  Rev.  J.  J.,  ii.  2.59. 
Buckingham,  Md.,  ii.  11, 12. 
Buckshire,  ii.  127. 
Buckskin,  0.,ii.  126, 127, 150. 
Buoll,  Rev.  Dr.  S.,  i.  91,  94,  190,  305,  369, 
370. 


Buffalo,  N.y.,  ii.  104, 108, 109;  ii.  262,  263. 

N.C.,  i.  226,  22S,  236;  ii.  44,  45,  56. 

i»a.,  i.  323,  327,  501,  502. 
Buffalo  Creek,  Va.,  i.  340,  342 ;  ii.  27. 

Valley,  Pa.,  i.  322. 
Buffner.  llev.  Henry,  ii.  30. 
Buist.  Rev.  Dr.  George,  i.  248:  ii.  42. 
Bulaek,  0.,  ii.  126. 
Bull  Creek,  i.  ,528. 

Bullen,  Kev.  Joseph,  i.  446;  ii.  20.3, 367,380. 
Bulluck"s  Creek,  ii.  56,  60. 
Bullskin.  Ky.,  ii.  155. 
Burch,  Rev.  J.  K.,  i.482;  ii.  46. 
Burd,  Rev.  Isaac,  ii.  380. 
Burr,  Rev.  A.,  i.  40,  85,  90,  95,  99,  125, 135, 

452. 
Burritt,  Rev.  Blackleach,  i.  157,  379. 
Burton.  0..  ii.  139. 
Burton,  Rev.  John,  i.  388;  ii.  4,  12. 

Rev.  ■\Vm.,  ii.  291. 
Burwell,  Rev.  Robert,  ii.  47. 
Bush.  Rev.  George,  Prof.,  ii.  403,  409,  410, 

502. 
Bushnell,  Rev.  Jedediah,  i.  400;   ii.  107, 

115. 
Butler,  i.  528. 
Butler,  Rev.  Calvin,  ii.  401.  413. 

Rev.  Dr.  Zebulon,  ii.  378. 
Butrick,  Rev.  D.  S.,  ii.  320,  332. 
Byington,  Rev.  Cyrus,  ii.  381. 
Byram,  Rev.  Eliab,  i.  90,  121,  122. 

Cabin  Creek,  ii.  125, 150, 151, 166. 
Cabin  John,  i.  334,  340;  ii.  16,  17. 
Cairo,  N.Y..  ii.  99. 
Caldwell,  Rev.  Dr.  Andrew,  ii.  74. 

Rev.  Dr.  Charles,  ii.  58. 

Rev.  Dr.  David, i.  l.o6, 1 02, 193, 220, 235, 
236,  237,  330,  SSb,  469 ;  ii.  44,  49. 

Rev.  E.  B.,  ii.  383. 

Rev.  H.,  ii.  382. 

Rev.  James,  i.  156, 171.  186,  195. 

Rev.  Dr.  Joseph,  i.  358,  572,  573. 

liey.  Dr.  Joseph  H.,  ii. 47, 49,  50,  56, 74. 

Rev.  Dr.  J.  P.,  i.  281. 

Rev.  Dr.  Sanniel  C,  i.  357,  358, 362, 36=i ; 
ii  55 
Caledonia,  N.Y.,  ii,  109, 
Calhoon,  Rev.  AVm.,  i.  341,  344,  349,  S-'.g 

408;  ii.  29,  40, 
Calhoun,  Hon,  John  C,  i.  363. 
Calvary,  H.C.,  ii.  63. 
Calvert,  Rev,  S.  W.,  ii.  .333. 
Cambridge,  N.Y.,  i.  384,  389:  ii.  99,  26S. 

S.C,  ii.  91. 
Camden,  S.C,  ii.  6.3. 
Cameron,  Rev.  Archibald,  i.  417,  418;  ]i. 

155,  157,  180,  186. 
Camp,  Rev.  P.,  i.  .529. 
Campbell,  Rev.  Alexander,  i,  358,  365;  Ji. 
196. 

Rev.  Alexander  A.,  ii.  391. 

Rev.  Dr.  Allan  D.,  i.  514;  ii.  326,  327. 

Rev.  E.  B.,  ii.  64. 

Rev.  James,  i.  72,  96,  1.57,  221. 

Kev.  Dr.  J.  N.,  ii.  17,  20,  25S. 

Rev.  Dr.  J.  P.,  i.  281,  415;  ii.  125,  156. 
175,  198. 

Rev.  .Tosejdi,  i.  572,  573. 
Campbellites,  ii.  177. 


INDEX. 


579 


Caiiil>iiiwtinp,  ii.  1G2,  16l-16.«,  310,  359. 

abusos  of.  ii.  173,  310. 
Caiiiiudai-iiii.  K.Y.,  i.  39'J,  400;  ii.  108. 
CaiKliilatcs  li»r  llio  luiiiistiy,  oxanuiiation 
oi;  i.  59,  00,  0.^,  7U,  73,  S-l. 

liberty  In  license  deniauded,  i.  213. 
Cane  Creek,  i>.C.,  ii.  02. 

Uidg.-.  Ky.,  ii.  IGO. 

Hun,  Kv..  ii.  155,  150. 
Canfiel.l,  0.,"ii.  13S,  :284. 
Canton.  O.,  ii.  284. 
Capo  JIav.  i.  29,  95.  311.  3So,  492. 
Carilross,  Lord.  i.  240. 
Caricature  of  Kiilsroiial  claims,  i.  17S. 
Carlisle,  N.Y.,  ii.  25.). 

Pa.,  i.  ->06.  314,  ,';00-,  ii.  400. 
Carll,  Kov.  B.,  i.  311,  562. 
Carnud,  ii.ftj. 

Cunniiliael,  Rev.  John.  i.  156. 182;  ii.  4. 
Carnaban  (Pros.),  Rev.  Dr.,  ii.  104. 
Carpenter,  Rev.  Ilnsh,  ii-  250. 
Carriclw,  Rev.  Samrad,  i.  234,  356,  423,  430; 

ii.  200,  201,  207. 
Carrigan,  Rev.  J(din,  i.  364,  365;  ii.  55,  56. 
CaiToil,  llnv.  Dr.,  ii.  547. 
Cartwright,  Rev.  Peter,  ii.  196. 
Casco  Bay,  Me.,  ii.  101. 
Case,  Rev.  Wheeler,  i.  146,  147,  151,  378. 
Catawissa,  i.  502. 

Catechisms  of  the  Church  adopted,  i.  205. 
Cater,  Rev.  Richard  C.,  ii.  61. 
Cathcart,  Rev.  Robert,  i.  64,  76. 

Rev.  Dr.  Robert,  i.  321,  322,  494,  495; 
ii.  1S6. 
Cathie's  Creek,  Teim„  ii.  211. 
Catholic,  S.C.,  ii.  61. 
Catskill,  N.Y..  ii.  99,  269. 
Cavin,  Rev.  Samuel,  i.  64. 
Cayupta  county,  N.Y.,  ii.  115. 
Cedar  Creek,  N.C..  iL  45. 

Creek,  Va.,  L  96,  107,  347,  349;  ii.  27, 
30. 

Spring,  Pa.,  i.  321. 
Centre,  Md.,  i.  335  ;  ii.  5. 

N.C.,  i.  225;  ii.  45,  52,  55. 

0.,  i.  528,  529. 
Centre  College,  Ky.,  ii.  305,  308. 
Chadwick,  Rev.  MV.,  ii.  lOS. 
Chalker,  Rev.  Isaac,  i.  153. 
Chamberlain,  Rev.  Dr.  Jeremiah,  L  494;  ii. 
SOS.  319,  352,  375,  3S0,  429. 

Rev.  R.,  ii.  382. 
Cham!)ersbnri;,  Pa.,  i.  494,  495. 
Chanceforil,  Md..  ii.  5.  8. 
Chandler,  Rev.  Dr.  Benjamin,  i.  179. 

Rev.  George,  i.  4'  7. 

Mr,  of  En-lan.t.  i.  129. 
Chapel  Hill.  N.C.,  ii.  4i-. 
Chapin,  Rev.  Dr.  Calvin,  ii.  137,  138. 
Chapman,  Rev.  Ezekiel  J.,L332;  iL  137, 
138. 

Rev.  Jedediah.  i.  156, 171,  214, 279, 289; 
ii.  104,  107, 108, 109. 

Kev.  Dr.  Kobert  II.,  i.  469;  ii.  28,  2D, 
46,  49,  99,  104,  108. 

Kev.  Mr.,  ii.  321. 
Charleston,  S.C,  i.  242,  337 ;  ii.  64. 

Circular  Church,  ii.  65. 

College,  ii.  91. 

Congregational  Association,  ii.  66, 234. 


Charlestown.  Ind.,  ii.  399. 

N.J.,  i.  95. 

Pa.,  i.  473,  527. 

Va.,  i.  322,  349;  ii.  27. 
Chariton,  N.Y.,  i.  389,  390;  ii.  258. 
Cliarter"s  Valley,  Tenn..  i.  423. 
Chartiers,  Pa.,  i.  269,  323,  517. 
Chase,  Hev.  Benjaiuin,  ii.  380. 
Chatham,  N.J.,  i.  562. 
Chealv,  Rev.  Wm.,  ii.  4. 
Cheever,  Rev.  Dr.  G.  B..  ii.  253. 
Cherokces,  i. 424, 446 ;  il.  201,  203, 320-323, 
374. 

removal  of  the.  ii.  322. 
Cherry  Valley.  N.V..  i.  147, 151,  379,  382. 
Chesnut,  Rev.  Benjamin,  i.  95. 
Chesnut  Level,  i.  97,  137;  ii.  4. 

Ridge,  i.  423. 

Sjiring,  N.C.,  ii.  £6. 
Chester,  Rev.  Dr.  John,  ii.  93.  258,  263, 276. 

Rev.  Dr.  AVm.,  ii.  228.  258. 
Chillicothe,  0.,  i.  326,  510;  iL  125,  126, 149, 

Old.  ii.  126. 
Chillisqua.jue,  Pa.,  i.  501,  502. 
Christiana,  Del.,  i.  64 ;  ji.  4,  7. 
Christie,  Rev.  J.  J.,  ii.  258. 
Chi-istmas,'Rer.  J.  S.,  ii.  256. 
Church  edifices  in  the  war,  i.  193-195. 

extension.    See  Committee, 

power,  i.  286. 

Psalmist,  ii.  563. 
Church,  Rev.  Dr.  Alonzo,  ii.  387,  388. 
Cincinnati,  0.,  ii.  122,  123,  151,  358. 
Circleville,  0.,  ii.  149, 
Citation  of  Synods,  iL  506^  513. 
Clancy,  Rev.  J.,  iL  258. 
Clap,  President  Thomas,  i.  97,  99. 
Clapp,  Rev.  Theodore,  iL  380. 
Clark.  Rev.  C.  G.,  ii.  442. 

Rev.  John,  i.  156,  266,  323,  324,  522. 

Rev.  John  V.,  i.  572,  573. 

Rev.  John  X..  ii.  24ft. 

Rev.  Josei)h,  i.  302,  303,  563. 

Rev.  ^^athaniel  C,  ii.  422. 

Rev.  Thomas,  i.  385. 

Rev.  Thomas  B.,  i.  526,  5.33;  ii.  290. 
Clarkson,  Rcw.  Wnu,  i.  .311,  386,  473. 
Clay  Lick,  K  v.,  i.  414 ;  iL  160.  165. 
Clavsville,  i.  527,  533. 
Clear  Creek,  Kv.,  i.  414;  ii.126,  155. 
Cleland,  Rev.  Pliilip  S.,  iL  413. 

Rev.  Samuel,  ii.  290. 

Rev.  Dr.  Thomas,  i.  415,  416,  470;  iL 
156,  168,  170.  192,  306,  397,  503,  539. 
Clement,  Rev.  John,  i.  41. 
Cleaveland,  Rev.  Dr.  Jolin  P.,  iL  443,  503, 

512,  529. 
Cleveland,  0.,  ii.  131,  1.34,  144,  146,  289. 
Clinch  Congregation,  Va.,  i.  423. 
Clinton,  Rev.  J.,  iL  257. 
Clinton,  Ga.,  ii.  69. 

N.Y.,  i.  279;  iL  113, 115. 

Ohio,  ii.  128. 
"  Clio's  Nurserv,"  i.  362,  363. 
Close,  Rev.  David,  i.  152,  1.57. 

Rev.  John,  i.  152,  154,  156,  379. 
Clvde,  N'.Y..  ii.  104. 
Cobb,  Rev.  Leander,  ii.  413. 
Coe,  Rev.  Alvan,  ii.  295,  442. 

Bev.  Dr.  D.  B.,  ii.  253. 


580 


INDEX. 


Coe.  Rev.  Harvey,  ii.  286,  297. 

Rev.  Dr.  Jouas,  i.  188,  386,  391,  465; 
ii.  99. 
Coffeetown,  S.C,  ii.  63. 
Coffin,  Rev.  Ur.  Charles,!.  469;  ii.201,204, 

318,  332. 
Cohansev,  N.J..  i.  28,  34,  41. 
Cold  Spring,  Del.,  i.  98. 

Spring,  N.Y.,  i.  573. 
Coleman,  Kev.  Dr.,  i.  136. 
Coleraine,  Mass.,  ii.  102. 
Collections   for   Indian   missions,  i.  161, 
162. 

for  Billies,  i.  199. 
Collins,  Rev.  John,  ii.  4. 

Ml-.,  of  New  Jersey,  i.  275. 
Colonization,  ii.  237,  241. 

Society,  i.  571 ;  ii.  -364,  522. 
Colton,  Rev.  H.  S.,  ii.  422. 

Rev.  Mr.,  ii.  111. 
Columbia,  O.,  ii.  122. 

S.C.,  ii.  62,  67. 

Tenn.,  ii.  211,  212. 

College,  ii.  247. 
Colnmlins,  Oa.,  ii.  69. 

0.,ii.  126, 127,149. 
Comfort,  Rev.  David,  i.  303,  563. 
Commission  of  Synod,  i.  47, 168. 

of  Kentncky  Synod,  ii.  181-185,  195. 
Committee-meu  in  Uenerai  Assembly,  ii. 

454-456. 
Committee  (Presbyterian)  of  Publication, 
ii.  563. 

on  Church  Extension,  ii.  561. 

on  Home  Missions,  ii.  562. 

on  Ministerial  Education,  ii.  562. 
Companion,  Va.,  i.  347. 
Concert  of  Prayer,  i.  437.    See  Monthly. 
Concord,  Ky.,  ii.  166. 

N.C.,  i."361 ;  ii.  55,  56. 

Pa.,  i.  509,  527,  528. 

S.C,  ii.  62,  63. 

Va.,  i.  107,  341,  .348 ;  ii.  27,  29. 
Concrete,  Va.,  i.  349. 

Coiidict,  Rev.  H.,  i.  279,  303,  388, 389,  391, 
561. 

Rev.  Ira,  i.  302,  399,  529.* 
Oondit,  Rev.  Joseph  B.,  ii.  97. 
Coneniaugh  i.  510. 
Conewago,  i.  321.  496. 
Confes.sion  of  Faith,  copy  of,  f.  113. 

modified,  ii.  ISO,  183,  189,  191. 
Congregational  churches  in  Ohio.  ii.  148. 

churches  in  South  Carolina,  ii.  65. 

cliurdu'S  in  \\.  New  York,  ii.  113. 

sympathies,  i.  .374.  303,  395. 

usage  charged  with  laxness,  ij.  4S1. 

zeal,  ii.  4.52. 
Congregationaiisni  defined,  i.  3. 

disavowiil  in  Coiinectiout,  i.  438. 
Congress,  the  first,  i.  270. 
Congruity.  Pa.,  i.  503,  507. 
Conklin.  Rev.  Mr.,  ii.  1. 
Conn,  Rev.  Hugh,  i.  29,  34. 
Conneaut  Lake,  i.  529. 
Connecticut  Farms,  i.  95,  303,  562. 

General  Assembly,  i.  163,  164. 

General  Association,  i.  289,  290,  292, 
396,397,450;  ii.  505. 

Legislature,  laws  of,  in  1742,  i.  88. 


Connecticut  Missionary  Society,  i.  436, 441 
444;  ii.  109,  110,  133,  136,  137,  139 
145,  147,  148,  288,  319,  374,  402, 423. 
New,  ii.  129.     See  Western  Reserve. 
Constitution  of  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
published,  i.  204:   tirst  edition,  i.285; 
principles  of,  ib.;  edition  of  1794,  L 287  ; 
ii.  238;  amendments  of,  ib. 
"Contrast,"  Ely's,  ii.  220. 
Contributions  from  New  England,  i.  38. 
Convention,  Albany  (1852),  u.  556. 
annual,  i.  203. 
Auburn  (1837),  ii.  5.32. 
ecclesiastical,  of  Western  Reserve,  ii. 

138,  142. 
for  correspondence  (1785).  i.  202. 
of  Asso<iated  Presliyteries.  i.  216;  its 

published  standards,  i.  217. 
of  Cong,  and  Presb.  ministers  (1766),  i. 
164,  287:  its  object,  165;  held  an- 
nually, ib. 
of  1835.'  ii.  488,  490. 
of  18.37,  ii495. 
Versailles,  Ky.,  ii.  539. 
Cook,  Rev.  Alexander,  i.  528;  ii.  142, 143. 
Rev.  Henry,  i.  303,  562. 
Rev.  N.  B.,  ii.  96. 
Conk's  Creek,  Va.,  i.  347 ;  ii.  2S. 
Cool  Spring,  i.  322,  527,  529. 

Spring,  Del.,  ii.  9, 12. 
Cooley,  Rev.  Thomas,  i.  267. 
Coon,  Rev.  Jacob,  i.  526;  ii.  293. 
Cooper,  Rev.  Robert,  i.  143,  162,  182,  319, 

322,  500. 
Co-operative  spirit  of  General  Assemblj', 

i.  437,  447  ;  ii.  114. 
Cooperstown,  N.Y.,  i.  279,  390, 484;  u.  115. 
Copes,  Rev.  J.,  ii.  12. 
Cornbury,  Lord,  i.  11,  1.3-15,  .33,  35,  37. 
Cornelius,  Rev.  Dr.  Elias,  ii.  319,  355,  374, 

458. 
Cornell,  Rev.  John,  i.  562. 
Corning,  ii.  104. 
Cornish,  Rev.  S.  E.,  ii.  257. 
Cornwall,  Conn.,  i.  215. 
Cornwall,  Rev.  John,  i.  303. 
Correspondence.    See  Letters. 

plan  of,  with  other  churches,  i.  437. 
plans  of,  with  the  Associate  and  Re- 
formed Dutch  Synods,  i.  202,  288, 
291 ;  ii.  231. 
with  Connecticut,  i.  26,  45,  163,  287. 
with  foreign  chmches,  i.  141, 163. 
Condon.  Ind.,  ii.  401. 
Cossan,  Rev.  John,  i.  234,  356,  367,  423 ;  ii. 

200,  201. 
Costner.  Rpv.  Jacob  A.,  i.  572. 
Cotton,  Rev.  John,  i.  155,  242. 
Coulter,  Rev.  John,  i.  501. 
County  Line  Creek.  N.C.,  i.  223. 
Cousar,  Rev.  John,  ii.  64,  73. 
Cove,  Va.,  ii.  29. 
Covert,  Rev.  John,  ii.  383. 
Cowan,  Rev.  J.  F.,  ii.  435. 
Cowell,  Rev.  David,  i.  60, 71, 73 ;  committee 

of  Synod  on  his  views,  i.  73. 
Cowles,  Rev.  Dr.  Giles  H,  ii.  139, 142,  286, 
295. 
Rev.  Salmon,  ii.  391. 
Rev.  Solomon,  i.  526. 


INDEX. 


581 


Cox,  Rev.  Dr.  S.  11.,  i.  558 ;  ii.  219,  252, 459, 

532. 
Cozad,  Rov.  Jacob,  i.  519. 
Cnil.  Ai)i)lo,  0.,  i.  526. 
Craig,  Kev.  .Archibald,  ii.  292. 

Rev.  John,  i.  6i,  lOS,  109,  121. 
Craighead,  Rev.  Alexander,  i.  82,  76,  77, 
223,  235. 
Rev.  John,  i.  157, 182, 321.  322, 358,  500. 
Rev.  Robert,  of  IrchuKl,  i.  51. 
Rev.  Robert  G.,  i.  416,  420. 
Rev.  Thomas,  i.  42,  53. 

Rev.  Thomas  B..  i.  405 ;  ii.  155, 157, 165, 
169,  179,  ISO,  185,  197-199. 
Crauberrv,  N.J,,  i.  91,  302,  303,  562. 
Cruiie,  Rev.  Daniel,  ii.  9J. 

Rev.  Elias  W.,  ii.  96. 

Rev.  Noah,  i.  562. 
Crawford,  Rev.  Kdward,  i.  347. 

Rev.  James,  i.  405 ;  ii.  155,  156,  171. 

Rev.  John,  ii.  413. 

lion.  \V.  a.,  i.  363. 
Crawford.  N.Y.,  i.  151. 
Crawfordsvillc,  Ind.,  ii.  405,  40:i,  411,  413. 
Creeds  rejected  in  Kentucky,  ii.  174. 
Cresswell,  Rev.  James,  i.  155,  227. 
Cripple  Creek,  Tenn.,  ii.  212. 
Crooked  Creek,  0.,  ii.  12S. 
Crosby,  Rev.  Dr.  H.,  ii.  251. 
Cross,  Rev.  .John,  i.  63. 

Rev.  Robert,  i.  41,  61,  131,  135,  143. 
Cross  Creek,  N.C.,  ii.  45,  53,  75,  76. 

Creek,  Pa.,  i.  325,  326,  519,  533. 
Cross-Roads,  Pa.,  i.  32S,  525,  527,  533. 

Roads,  i.  524. 
Crosswieks,  i.  41,  63. 
Crothers,  Rev.  S..  ii.  201. 
Crowe,  Rev.  Dr.  J.  1'.,  ii.  33.1,  401,  410,  41.3, 

414,  415. 
CruHipond,  N.Y. (see  Yjrk town),  i.  198, 21.5, 

379. 
Cub  Creek,  Va.,  i.  96,  107,  3U:  ii.  23. 
Culbertson,  Rav.  Jam3S,  Ii.  149,  231. 
Culpepper,  Va.,  ii.  30. 
Cumberland,  Pa.,  i.  441. 

Presbyterians,  i.  455;  ii.  177-195. 

Presbytery,  i.  455. 

schism,  causes  of,  ii.  192,  196. 

Va.,  i.  310;  ii.  27. 
Cumberland  College,  i.  561. 
Cumiuing.  Rev.  Hooper,  ii.  2.58. 
Cumiuinsjs,  Rev.  Alexander,  i.  1-37. 

Rev.Charles,  i.  234,  356,  425 ;  ii.  201. 
Cummins,  Rev.  Dr.  Francis,  i.  232,  235,356, 

46J;  ii.61.  68,72,387. 
Cunningham.  Rev.  James,  ii.  149. 

Rev.  Joseph  P..  ii.  391,  392. 

Rev.  Robert  >I.,  i.  .358,  362,  365,  469; 
ii.  6S,  156,  310,  392. 
Currie,  Rev.  E.  B.,  ii.  44.  .5.3.  7.3. 
Curries  Rush,  N.V..  i.  154,  386;  ii.  258. 
Curtis,  Rev.  J.  W.,  ii.  286. 
Cutrhogue,  L.I.,  ii.  9S. 
Cutler,  Rev.  Dr.  Manasseh,  ii.  117. 
Cuyler,  Rev.  Dr.  C.  C,  ii.  503,  50>. 

Dabney.  Rev.  Dr.  R.  L.,  ii.  .39. 

Daggett,  Rev.  Herman,  i.  369, 373;  ii.97,99. 

Rev.  Dr.  N.,  i.  94,  195. 
Dan  River,  N.C.,  i.  223. 


Dana,  Rov.  Dr.  Daniel,  i.  464 ;  ii.  102. 
Danforth,  Rev.  Dr.  J.  N.,  ii.  20. 
Danvers,  Miiss.,  ii.  118. 
Danville,  Ky.,  ii.  105, 106  (see  Theological 

Seminary). 
Danville  College,  i.  552. 
Darby,  0.,  ii.  126,  127. 
Darien,  Ga.,  ii.  64,  69,  71,  385,  388. 
Darwin,  Rev.  A.,  ii.  441. 
Davenport,  Rev.  Jajnes.  i.  74,  88,  121. 

Kev.  Jolm.  i.  156,311,  313. 

Rev.  John,  i.  379,  .381. 
Davidson,  Rev.  A.  B.,  ii.  28,  30. 

Rev.  Patrick,  i.  500;  ii.  3,  16. 

Rev.  Robert,  i.  144,  157,  182,  318,  322, 
498,  600. 
Davidson  College,  ii.  51,  90. 
Davies,  Rev.  John  B.,  ii.  56,  62. 

Ri-v.  Samuel,  i.  93,  94,  97, 105, 115, 116. 
Davis,  Rev.  A.  K.,  ii.  392. 

Pres.  Henrv.  ii.  268. 

Rev.  Samuel,  i.  18,  20,  34. 

Rev.  Samuel,  i.  366,  367 ;  ii.  55,  56, 201. 

Rev.  William,  ii.  55. 

Rev.  William  C,  i.  356,  366;  ii.  60,72. 
Day,  Ezra  A.,  ii.  401. 

Rev.  Jeremiah,  ii.  132. 
Day  of  fasting  and  praver,  i.  141. 
Dayton,  0.,  ii.  12.5,  126,151,  155. 
Debow,  Rev.  John,  i.  233. 
Dee  Ess,  Va..  i.  340. 
Deep  Run,  P'a.,  i.  143,  310,  473. 
Deer  Creek,  i.  528. 

Creek,  Md.,  i.  340;  ii.  5. 
Deerfield,  i.  95,  311. 
Deer  Park,  N.Y.,  i.  381. 
Delaware,  ii.  1-13. 

county,  N.Y'.,  ii.  115. 

Indians,  ii.  134. 

Ohio,  ii.  128,  149. 
Delegation  in  Synod,  i.  47. 
Delhi,  N.Y.,  ii.  115. 
Deniing,  Rev.  Oliver,  i.  156. 

Rev.  R.  R.,  ii.  258. 
Denny,  Rev.  David,  i.  322,  494,  495,  499. 
Denton,  Rev.  Richard,  i.  33. 
Derrow,  Rev.  N.  B.,  ii.  107,  140,  144,  286, 

397,  400,'  405. 
Derrv,  i.  501,  502. 

i.  312,  321,  322,  494,  495. 
Destitution,  religious,  in  1826,  in  N.  York, 
ii.  338;  in  Pennsvlvania  and  N.  Jersey, 
ib.;  in  Ohio,  339;  in  Indiana,  .340,  398, 
406;  in  Illinois,  340.  415;  in  Michigan, 
Kentucky,  and  Tennessee,  341 ;  in  the 
Southwest,  342:  in   Alabama  and   Flo- 
rida, ib. :  in  the  Carolinas  and  Virginia, 
.341:  in  Michigan.  438. 
Detroit,  i.  445  ;  ii.  4.37,  440. 
De  Witt,  Rev.  Dr.  W.  R.,  i.  494;  ii.  461. 
Dexter,  S.  N..  ii.  268. 
Dick,  Rev.  .John,  i.  97. 
Dick's  Creek,  ii.  151. 

River,  Kv.,  ii.  1.55. 
Dickerson,  Rev.  A.  C.  ii.539. 
Dickev,  Rev.  James  H.,  ii.  150,  291,  395, 
■.524. 

Rev.,  ii.  181, 185. 

Rev.  Dr.,  ii.  232. 

Rev.  John,  ii.  542. 


49* 


582 


INDEX. 


Dickey,  Rev.  John  M.,  ii.  396, 400,  401, 408, 
409,  410,  413. 
Rev.  Win.,  ii.  291,  398. 
Dickinson,  Rev.  Jonathan,  i.  30,  39,  4.5,  53, 
74,  82,  83,  85,  87,  90,  94,  97,  105,  124, 
135, 138. 
Key.  Dr.,  ii.  254. 
Rev.  Dr.  B.,  il.  503,  507,  508. 
Hon.  John,  i.  314. 
Rev.  Moses,  i.  41. 
Rev.  Richard  W.,  ii.  250. 
Dickinson  College,  i.  314,  480,  494,  500;  ii. 

247. 
Dickson  (Dixon),  Rev.  Hugh,  ii.  0:3,  73. 

Rev.  Wni.,  ii.  432. 
Difficult,  Md.,  i.  340. 
Digest,  ii.  237. 

Dilworth,  Rov.  Robert,  ii.  284. 
Division  of  1741,  i.  58-82;  grounds  of,  81; 

results  of,  140,  142. 
Division  of  the  Church  resolved  on  in  1837, 
ii.  496,  509;  voluntary,  proposed,  508; 
found  impracticable,  509;  results  of,  532- 
552 :  in  Kentucky,  538 :  in  Missouri,  541 ; 
in  Illinois,  542;  in  Indiana,  ili. ;  in  Ohio, 
643 ;  in  New  York,  543-545 ;  in  New  Jer- 
sey, 545 ;  in  Delaware  and  Pennsylvania, 
546 ;  in  Virginia,  547-549 ;  in  other  parts, 
549. 
Doak,  Rev.  Dr.  John  M.,  i.  493;  ii.  212. 
Rev.  Dr.  Samuel,  i.  191,  426 ;  ii.  201, 

212,  332. 
Rev.  S.  W.,  ii.  212,  .318,  332. 
Dobbins,  Rev.  Robert  B.,  ii.  74,  150,  422. 
Doctrinal  soundness  of  churches  in  West- 
ern New  York,  ii.  114. 
Dod,  Rev.  Thaddeus,  i.  191,  258,  261,  323, 

330. 
Dodd,  Rev.  Cephas,  i.  521,  533. 
Doddridge,  Rev.  Dr.,  i.  357. 
Doe  Run,  Pa.,  ii.  45. 
Donald,  Rev.  Matthew,  ii.  211.  321. 
Donegal,  Pa.,  i.  39,  98;  ii.  3. 
Western  Pa.,  i.  323,  503. 
Donnell,  Rev.  Samuel,  i.  420;  ii.  179,  180, 
181,  185,  212. 
Rev.  Thomas,  ii.  429,  430,  435. 
Dorchester,  i.  155. 

S.C,  ii.  70. 
Dorrance,  Rev.  John,  ii.  379. 
Double  Spring,  Tenn.,  ii.  212. 
Dougall,  Rev.  Samuel,  i.  321,  499. 
Douglass,  Rev.  Orson,  ii.  4. 
Dover,  Del.,  i.  42;  ii.  9,  13. 
Downer,  Rev.  David  R.,  ii.  254. 
Doylestown,  Pa.,  i.  473. 
Drake,  Joseph,  i.  240. 
Drawvers,  Del.,  i.  41.  97,  98,  386;  ii.  6. 
Dry  Valley,  Pa.,  i.  501. 
Duanesburg,  N.Y.,  ii.  258. 
Dublin,  donation  of  books  from,  i.  137. 
Dubois,  Rev.  Uriah,  i.  473. 
Duck  Creek,  i.  98. 

Creek,  0.,  ii.  126,  151. 

Duelling,  the  General  Assembly  on,  i.452. 

Duffield,  Rev.  George,  i.  95,  105,  143,  145, 

158,  181,  186,  190,  192,  228,  252,  306. 

Rev.  Dr.  George,  i.  500 ;  ii.  460, 477, 484, 

508. 
his  work  on  Regeneration,  ii.  461, 480. 


Duncan,  Rev.  Dr.,  ii.  2.32. 
Duncan's  Creek,  N.C.,  ii.  56. 

Creek,  S.C,  ii.  62. 
Dunham,  Rev.  Asa,  i.  302,  500,  502. 

Rev.  Mr.,  i.  322. 
Dunkers,  the,  ii.  406,  415. 
Dunlap,  Rev.  David,  i.  364. 

Rev.  David  E.,  ii.  62. 

Rev.  Dr.  James,  i.  265, 323, 503, 508, 523. 

Rev.  Samuel,  i.  146,  151,  382. 

Rev.  Wm.,  i.  493. 

Rev.  Mr.,  i.  108. 
Dunlap's  Creek,  Pa.,  i.  258,  323,  503,  508. 
Dunhivy,  Rev.  John,  i.  419;  ii.  125,  156, 

157,  174,  176. 
Dunlup,  Rev.  John,  i.  384. 
Dunn,  Rev.  J.  B.,  ii.  254. 

Rev.  Thomas,  i.  492. 
Dunning,  Rev.  Ira,  ii.  441. 
Duplin,  N.C.,  i.  223. 
Durham,  N.Y..  ii.  269. 
Dwight,  President,  i.  290,  292,  396,  456. 

Rev.  Henry,  ii.  105,  228. 

Rev.  S.  E.,  ii.  268. 

Rev.  T.  M.,  ii.  389. 

Eagle  Creek,  0.,  ii.  125. 
Eagleton,  Tenn.,  ii.  321. 
Eagleton,  Rev.  E.  M.,  ii.  332. 

Rev.  Wm.,  ii.  321,  333. 
Eakin,  Rev.  Samuel,  i.  144,  157,  186. 
East  Buffalo,  Pa.,  i.  527. 

Galway,  N.Y.,  ii.  258. 
Easthampton,  L.I.,  i.  33,  94,  369,  375 ;  ii.  96. 
Easton,  Pa.,  i.  572,  573. 
Eaton,  Rev.  Johnston,  i.  529;  ii.  142. 
Ebbing  Spring,  Va.,  i.  423,  425. 
Ebenezer,  Ga.,  i.  362;  ii.  63,  68. 

N.C.,  ii.  56. 

Ohio,  ii.  128. 

Pa.,  i.  503. 

Tenn.,  ii.  212. 
"  Ecclesiastical  characteristics,"  i.  133. 

method  of  missions,  ii.  450. 
Edgar,  Rev.  Dr.  J.  T.,  ii.  315. 
Edinburg,  N.Y.,  ii.  258,  259. 
Edisto,  S.C,  ii.  65. 
Edmonds,  Rev.  James,  i.  157,  356. 
Education  in  Kentucky,  i.  105. 

in  Ohio,  ii.  152. 

ministerial,  i.  141, 159, 160, 442 ;  ii.  34, 
74,  92,  346,  353. 

promoted,  i.  123, 124-138,  275. 

schools  taught  by  ministers,  i.  227, 228, 
231,  234,  237,  238,  259,  262,  265. 

societies,  ii.  224,  354. 

Society,  American,  ii.  354,  452. 
Edwards,  Rev.  David,  i.  492. 

Rev.  James  C,  ii.  96. 

Rev.  Jonathan,  i.  87, 120, 122, 125, 135, 
150;  favors  Presbyterianism,  i.  3, 
123;  at  New  York,  i.  38. 

Rev.  Dr.  Jonathan,  i.  290,  293,  390,  391, 
392,396;  ii.  258. 
Edwards,  N.C.,  ii.  56. 
Edwardsville.  111.,  ii.  402,  415,  416,  417. 
Elbridge,  N.Y.,  ii.  107. 
Elder,  Rev.  John,  i.  64,  143, 144,  311,  322. 
Elders  in  Baltimore  Presbytery,  ii.  25. 

in  churches  required,  ii.  498. 


INDEX. 


583 


Ildership  not  iiulisppnguMo,  ii.  25,  482. 
Eleotivo  Affiiiitv  jnimiiile,  i.  143;  ii.  472, 

477,  491,  4'.)S. 
Eliot,  Ark.,  ii.  321. 
Eliziilx'tli  River,  Va.,  jicoiile  on,  i.  5. 
Eliziibcthtowii,  N.J.,  i.  ;J0,  y>J,  94,  125,  194, 

.S86,  561. 
Elk  Kruncli,  Va.,  ii.  42. 
Ridge,  'i'enn.,  ii.  212. 
River,  i.  42. 
Elkton,  IVnn.,  ii.  212. 
Ellicott,  Joseph,  ii.  109. 
Elliott,  Rev.  Dr.  David,  i.  500;  ii.  503. 
Ellis,  Rev.  J.  M.,  ii.  34S,  418,  419. 
Ell-sworth,  O.,  ii.  143,  2^4. 
Elmer,  Rev.  Daniel,  i.  95,  302,  303. 

Rev.  Jonathan,  i.  41,  50. 
Elmira,  N.Y.,  i.  399. 

Ely,  Rev.  Dr.  E.  S.,  i.  474, 478;  ii.  220,  221, 
4:55,  437,  467,  468. 
Rev.  John,  ii.  99. 
Rev.  Jndah,  ii.  442. 
Rev.  Samuel  11.,  ii.  97. 
Emlyn,  Thoma.*,  i.  48. 
Engies,  Rev.  Dr.  W.  E.,  i.4S5;  ii.  232. 
English  Dissenters  and  Princeton  College, 
i.  128-135. 
Dissenters,  apostasy  of,  i.  128, 130, 133, 
134. 
Eno,  N.C.,  i.  225,  233,  236;  ii.  45. 
Ephratah,  N.Y.,  ii.  259. 
Episcopacy  in  New  York,  i.  35:  in  South 
Carolina,  243;  feared  in   this  country, 
165;  opposition  to,  165,  166,  177.  244; 
Synods   in  New  England  <lefeated   by 
Episcopal  Influence,  ii.  100;  claims  of, 
caricatured,  i.  178. 
Episcopal  clergy,  character  of,  i.  17, 22, 179. 
controversy  in  the  Revolution,  i.  179. 
Erie,  i.  528,  529. 

Errors  charged  in  the  "Western  Memo- 
rial," ii.  484,  490,  491,  503. 
to  be  investigated,  ii.  519. 
Erskine,  of  Scotland,  i.  70. 

Rev.  Dr.  John,  i.  125. 
Erwin,  Rev.  Renjannn,  i.  347;  ii.  27.  28. 

Rev.  John  D.,  ii.  29. 
Esperance,  N.Y.,  ii.  230,  258. 
Euclid,  0.,ii.  131,139,  290. 
Eusebi.a,  Tenn..  ii.  202. 
Eustace,  Rev.  Thoma-s,  i.  4S6. 
Evans,  Rev.  David,  i.  29,  34. 
Rev.  Samuel,  i.  92. 
Rev.  Thomas,  i.  42,  45,  92,  108. 
Evansville,  Ind..  ii.  401. 
Everts.  Jeremiali,  ii.  4.58. 
Ewing,  Rev.  .\lexander,  ii.  422. 

Rev.  Finis,  ii.  177,  179,  1S2,  190,  191. 
Rev.  Dr.  James,  i.  .314,  474. 
Rev.  Dr.  John,  i.  14.3,  .304. 
Rev.  Nath.aniel.  ii.  .508. 
Examining  candidates  for  ministry,  i.  144. 
Excision,  virtual,  by  the  Old  Side  Protest, 

i.  78. 
•■  Exercises"  in  the  Great  Revival,  ii.  169, 

174. 
Exscinding  Acts,  ii.  .513.  .515,  516. 

protest  of  Drs.  Spring  and  Spencer 
against,  ii.  551,  568.  See  General 
Assembly. 


ExBcinding   Art«,  unconstitutionalitv  of, 
ii.  610,  517,  519,  534. 

Fagg's  Manor,  i.  62,  94,  117,  137  ;  ii.  3. 
Fairbanks,  Rev.  E.,  ii.  262. 
Fairchild,  Rev.  Ashbel  G.,  i.  .^04. 
FairtieUl,N.J.,i.96,311.472.  SeeCohansey. 

I'a.,  i.  323,  603,  515,  528,  529. 
Fair  Forest,  S.C,  ii.  62,  87. 
Fairview,  I'a.,  i.  529. 

S  C,  ii.  63. 
Faitoute,  Rev.  George,  i.  311,  868,  473;  ii. 

96. 
Falling  Spring,  i.  64,  321 ;  ii.  29. 

Waters.  i.'322;  ii.  27,  30. 

A\  aters.  i.  348. 
Fanaticit-m,  ii.  170.  196. 
Faruiingtun,  Mich.,  ii.  441. 
Farnuni.  Klder,  ii.  197. 

lUv.  L..  ii.  421. 
Farrar,  Rev.  Joseph,  ii.  268. 
yau<iuier.  Va.,  i.  341. 
FavetteviUe.  N.C.,  i.  222;  ii.47. 

Tenn.,  ii.  212. 
Fearing,  0.,  ii.  149. 
Federal  Creek,  0.,  ii.  128. 
Ferry,  Hev.  M  .  M.,  ii.  439,  441,  442. 
F'ield,  Rev.  D.  D.,  ii.  262. 

Rev.  John.  ii.  139,  143,  286. 

Rev.  ain.othv,  i.  399;  ii.  108. 
Finlev.  Rev.  .?ames,  i.  137,  265,  323. 

liev.  John  E.,  i.  419:  ii.  3,  156. 

Hev.  Dr.  Robert,  i.  303,  570,  £72,  594; 

ii.  eg. 

Rev.  R.  W.,  ii.  125. 

Rev.  Dr.  Samuel,  i.  75,  76,  88,  90,  91, 
Ki5.  116,  137,  159. 

Rev.  Samuel,  i.  419;  ii.  8,  165. 
Finney,  Rev.  Alfred,  ii.  321. 

Rev.  C.  G.,  ii.  358,  457,  458. 

Rev.  Wni.,  ii.  5. 
Fislidani.  ii.  63. 
lisl.er.  Rev.  Hugh,  i.  242. 

Rev.  Dr.  Samuel,  i.  562;  ii.  530. 

Rev.  Pres.  S.  \V.,  ii.  268. 
Fishing  Creek,  Mri.,  ii.  11. 

Creek,  N.C.,  ii.  66. 

Ci-ci  k.  S.C,  ii.  62. 
Fi^-llkill.  N.Y.,  i.  149,  380,  ,573;  ii.  99. 
Fisk.  Rev.  Dr.  E.,  ii.  99,  269,  374,  469. 
Fitch,  Rev.  Eh.,  ii.269. 
Fitzgendd.  Rev.  Edward,  ii.  101. 
Flagertv"s  Run,  Pa,,  i.  527. 
Flat.s,  Pa.,  i.  622,  626,  527,  633. 
F'leniing,  Ky.,  ii.  125,  166. 

mouth  of.  ii.  126. 
Fleniingsburg,  Ky.,  i.  415. 
Flemington.  N.J.,  i.  302,  303,  572,  573. 
Flinn,  Rev.  Dr.  A.,  i.469;  ii.  47,  61,  63,  64, 

Flint,  Rev.  T.,  ii.  .319,  405,  427-430. 
Flint  Run,  Va.,  i.  349;  ii.  27. 
Florida,  ii.  343,  393,  394. 

N.Y.,  i.210,  .380. 
Foot,  Rev.  George,  ii.  388. 
Foote.  Rev.  Dr.  W.  H.,  ii.  42. 
Ford,  Rev.  Dr.  John.  i.  562. 
Fordham.  Rev.  Lemuel,  i.  562. 
Foreign  ministers  (see  lri.sh),  i.  198. 

missions  (see  Board),  germ  of,  i.  163. 


584 


INDEX. 


Fork  Congregation,  Tenn.,  i.  423. 
Forks  of  Delaware,  i.  95. 

of  James,  Va.,  i.  108. 
Forrest,  Rev.  Robert,  ii.  219. 
Fort  Edward,  N.Y.,  i.  279. 

Meigs,  ii.  440. 

Miller,  N.Y.,  i.  279. 

Schuyler,  N.Y.,  i.  279. 

AVayne,  ii.  408. 
Foster,  Rev.  .lohn,  i.  365 ;  ii.  62. 

Lemuel,  ii.  422. 

Stephen,  ii.  332. 

Wni.,  i.  156. 
Fourth  Creek,  N.C.,  i.  361 ;  ii.  55,  5G. 
Fowler,  Rev.  0.,  ii.  3J9,  400. 
Fox  Hill,  N..I.,  i.  .W2,  574. 
Fox  Run,  Ky.,  i.  418. 
Francis,  Rev.  Amzi,  ii.  96. 
Frankford,  Pa.,  i.  493, 
Frankfort,  Ky.,  ii.  300. 

Va.,  i.  3-49;  ii.  27. 
Franklin,  Dr.  Benjamin,  i.  66. 
Franklin,  N.Y.,  ii.  115. 

Tenn.,  ii.  212. 
Franklinton,  0.,  u.  126, 127. 
Frankstown,  Pa.,  i.  322,  501,  .502. 
Frazer,  Rev.  T.,  ii.  258. 

\Vm.  J.,  ii.  412,  421,  422. 
Frederick,  Md.,  i.  335,  340 ;  ii.  16, 17,  24. 

O.,  ii.  128. 
Fredericksburg,  N.Y.,  i.  148,  379. 

Va.,  ii.  30,  33,  43. 
Fredonia,  N.Y.,  ii.  110. 
Freehold,  N.,I.,  i.  18,  28,  302,  562. 
Freeman,  Rev.  Adam,  i.  340. 

Rev.  Jonathan,!.  153, 154,379,381,472. 
Free-Ma-..nry,  ii.  238. 
Frelin-hiiyscu.  Rev.  Mr.,  i.  59. 
French  Presbyterian  Churches,  ii.  100. 
Fresh  Pond,  L.I.,  ii.  97. 
Frierson  Settlement,  Tenn.,  ii.  210. 
Frisbie,  Rev.  L.,  i.  1-57. 
Frontis,  Rev.  S.,  ii.  440,  442. 
Frost,  Rev.  Mr.,  ii.  111. 
Fuller,  Rov.  Henry,  ii.  96,  97. 
Fulton,  i.  413. 
Funck,  Rev.  S.  P.,  ii.  96. 
Fund  for  pious  uses,  i.  43,  276 ;  for  church- 
erection,  ii.  558. 

Gaines,  Rev.  L.  G.,  ii.  292,  407. 

Rev.  0.  P..  ii.  403. 
Galbraith,  Rev.  J.,  i.  .502,  503. 
Gale,  Rev.  G.  AV.,  ii.  422. 
G.alena,  III.,  ii.  421. 
Gallaher,  Rev.  James,  ii.  212,  292,  309,  318, 

329,  332,  358,  435. 
Gallaher's  Creek,  Tenn.,  ii.  211. 
Gallipolis,  0.,  ii.  289. 
Galpin,  Rev.  Horace,  i.  572. 
Gait,  Rev.  T.,  ii.  422. 
Galway,  N.Y.,  i.  382,  3S5,  .390;  ii.  2.j8. 
Ganson"s  Settlement,  N.Y.,  ii.  108. 
Gap  Creek,  Tenn.,  i.  423. 
Gardner,  Rev.  J.  D.,  ii.  96. 
Garrison,  Rev.  A.,  ii.  2.59. 
Giispar  River,  Ky.,  ii.  158, 160, 161, 164. 
Gaylord,  Rev.  Mr.,  ii.  96. 
Geilatly,  Rev.  Alexander,  ii.  253. 
Gelston,  Rev.  James,  i.  108. 


Gelston,  Rev.  Samuel,  i.  30, 32, 153. 
Gemniil,  Rev.  J.,  i.  473. 
General  Assembly,  steps  to  ora;anize  a,  i. 
203 ;  title  of  the  body  discussed,  204; 
changes  made  to  constitute  it,  205 ; 
catechisms  adopted  by,  ib. ;  proceed- 
ings of,  from  1^  89  to  1800,  268-299 ; 
vote  of  delegates  in  it  from  Congre- 
gational bodies,  290,  455 ;  on  the 
state  of  the  Church  and  country, 
297  ;  proceedings  from  1800  to  1815, 
436-464;  correspondence  of,  437 ;  on 
the  Cumberland  schism,  ii.  186;  let- 
ters of,  on  it,  187,  188;  decision  of, 
on  it,  192;  recommends  missions  to 
the  Cherokees,  204;  proceedings 
from  1816  to  1825,  213-242;  doc- 
trinal position  of,  218 ;  representa- 
tion in,  changed,  364;  resigning 
seats  in,  to  alternates,  disapproved, 
365 ;  overture  for  a  Western,  ib. ;  of 
1830,  445 ;  of  1834,  485  ;  of  1835, 472, 
491;  of  1836,478,  492;  of  1837,  503; 
of  1838,  528,  534;  its  organization, 
530 ;  civil  parallel  of  its,  531 ;  de- 
liberations regarding  it,  532;  Mr. 
Barnes's  case  in  successive  Assem- 
blies, 463,  471,  478,  479,  480. 
General  Assembly,  Constitutional,  ii.  541; 
elements  that  adhered  to  it,  5.53; 
slavery  discussions  in,  557  ;  of  1864, 
566;  loyal  spirit  of,  ii.  .565,  566. 
Southern,  proposed,  ii.  526,  527. 
General  Assemblies,  two  proposed,  ii.  520 ; 
charges  of  the  Western  memorial 
against.  See  Western-Memorial. 
Genesee  Valley,  i. 395,  398, 572, 574 ;  ii.  108- 

116. 
Geneseo,  i.  .399. 
Geneva,  i.  .397  ;  ii.  104. 
Genoa,  N.Y.,  ii.  107. 
George's  Creek,  Pa.,  i.  323,  503,  504. 
Georsetovrn,  D.C.,  i.  334;  u.  15, 16, 17. 
i.  529. 

Ky.,  i.  125.  155. 
Georgia  (see  Carolinas),  ii.95, 362, 382-389. 
College  at  Athens,  ii.  362. 
University, i. 363, 571 ;  ii.  61,69,383,387. 
Germantown,  0.,  ii.  126. 

Pa.,  i.  484,486,  492;  ii.  24. 
Gettysburg,  Pa.,  i.  497. 
Gibbons,  Mr.,  of  England,  i.  128. 
Gibson,  Rev.  Robert,  ii.  376. 

Rev.  W.  J.,  i.  485. 
Gidilings,  Rev.  Salmon,  ii.  319, 398, 423, 429, 

430. 
Gilbert,  Rev.  Dr.  E.  W.,  ii.  3, 7, 414, 503, 530. 

Rev.  Mr.,  ii.  96. 
Gilgal,  Pa.,  i.  504. 
Gillespie,  Rev.  George,  i.  28,  34,  81. 
Bev.  James,  ii.  .393. 
Rev.  John,  i.  366;  ii.  45,  211.. 
Giliiland,  Rev.  A.  B..  ii.  292. 

Rev.  James,  i.  365,  470;  ii.  60,  63,  12^ 

150.  291,  297. 
Rev.  James.  Jr.,  ii.  61,  63,  380. 
Gilmore,  Rev.  Mr.,  ii.  102. 
Glade  Run,  Pa.,  i.  504. 
Sprinsr,  Va.,  i.  423. 
Glasgow,  Rev.  Ezekiel,  ii.  1,  142,  2»4. 


INDEX. 


585 


Glasgow,  Ky.,  i.  419. 

Glass,  Ki.-v.  Joscpli,  ii.  30. 

Glumly,  Ki-v.  Ur.  Juhn,  i.  34S,  4G7  ;  ii.  14, 

Gl.'iiii,  K^-v.  Kobcit,  ii.  -Jl^,  3-21,  332. 
Gk'soii,  Kiv.  i.iitlu')-,  i.  3ti;l;  ii.  U6. 
GloiKostfr,  Ki;v.  joiiu,  i.  474,  -iiiti;  ii.  74. 
GloiR-esttr.  N..I.,  i.  41. 
Goldsmith,  Kev.Lfiij.,i.l50,36.),372;  ii.95. 

Kev.  i»r.  Jolili,  ii.  iiO. 
Gooch,  Govoruur,  ot  Virginia,  i.  lOS,  113. 
GooiUiolJe,  Va.,  i.  347. 

S.t'.,  ii.  61,  03. 
Goodiuaii,  Kev.  K.  W.,  ii.  442. 

Kcv.  S.  C,  ii.  61,  &J,  64. 
Goodrich,  Kev.  Dr.  11.  1'.,  ii.  37,  4.37,  547. 
Goshen,  N.C.,  i.  362;  ii.  yo. 

N.V.,  i.  2i*,  65,  152,  379;  ii.  99,  269. 
Gould,  Kev.  Nahuiu,  ii.  422. 

Kev.  W.  K.,  ii.  269. 
Gouldiiig,  Kev.  F.  K.,  ii.  2S8. 

Kev.  Dr.  Thomas,  ii.  68,  383,  888. 
Gourly,  Kev.  James,  i.  157 
Graham,  Kev.  Lhauncey,  i.  95,  146,  149. 
Kev.  James,  i.  oUli. 
Kev.  Kobert,  ii.  5. 
Rev.  Samuel,  ii.399,  415,  416. 
Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  L.,  ii.  47,  503. 
Rev.  Wm.,  ii.  291. 

Kev.  Wm..  i.  187,  281,  347,  351,  353;  ii. 
27,  28,  29,  206. 
Graham.  Ind..  ii.  396. 
Grant,  Col.,  i.  128. 

Rev.  Ebenezer,  ii.  99. 
Rev.  John  L.,  i.  4S6. 
Rev.  Thomas,  i.  303,  572. 
Granville,  Mass.,  ii.  147. 
N.C.,  i.  227. 
N.Y.,  i.  389. 
O.,  ii.  147. 
Gra.ssv  Creek,  N.C.  i.  225 ;  ii.  44,  47,  53. 
Spring,  S.C.,  ii.  62.  63. 
Valley.  NO.,  i.  423;  ii.  201,  206. 
Grave  Creek,  Pa.,  i.  527. 
Gravel  Run,  O.,  i.  529. 
Graves.  Rev.  Benjamin,  ii.  292. 
Grav,  Rev.  Daniel,  ii.  62. 

Rev.  Wm.,  ii.  253. 
Great  Cove,  Pa.,  i.  491. 
Island,  Pa.,  i.  .iOl.502. 
Vallev.  i.  311,473. 
Green,  Rev.  Dr.  .A.shbel.  i.  1 87, 207. 287. 305, 
3:3s,  339,  455,  465,  563,  5(55 ;  ii.  1S6, 
239.  445,  448.  456,  466,  467,  468,  476, 
486.  488.  .503,  ,'i05,  517. 
Rev.  Enoch,  i.  1.'6. 
Rev.  Jacob,  i.  95.  191.  207  :  ii.  9S. 
Rev.  Jnd^e.  of  Kentiickv.  ii.  523. 
R<v.  Zecl'iariah.  i.369,  373;  ii.  96,  97. 
Greenlmrfr.  Kv..  i.  419. 
N.Y..  i.  215. 
Pa.,  i.  .'0.",:  h".  125. 
Greeiibnsli,  N.Y.,  ii.  2.59. 
Greencastle,  Pa.,  i.  494. 
Green  Creek,  Kv..  ii.  155. 
Greenfield.  Ind.',  ii.  405. 
N.Y.,  ii.  259. 
i.  528. 
Greenleaf  s  "Churches  of  M.-iine,"  ii.  102. 
^reenman,  Rev.  Neh.,  i.  95, 121, 122, 190. 


Green  Spring,  Va.,  i.  423. 
Greensiiorough,  Ga.,  ii.  383. 
Greenville  College  (see  Dr.  Doak),  i.  427, 
459  ;  ii.  '.iOl,  205. 

S.C.  ii.  o;;. 

Tenii.,  ii.  206,  212. 
Greenwich,  N.J.,  i.  95,  303,  311,  472,  572. 
Greeuwooil,  Pa.,  i.  502. 
Greer's,  iS' .(.'.,  ii.  45. 
Gregg,  Kev.  S.,  ii.  409. 
Grey,  Kev.  Dr.,  ii.  232. 
Gridley,  Kev.  K.  \V.,  ii.  422. 
Grier,  Kev.  Isaac,  i.  501,  502. 

Kev.  James,  i.  310. 

Kev.  John  F.,  i.  492. 

Kev.  John  N.  C,  ii.  4,  5. 

Kev.  Natlian,  i.  287,  310;  ii.  4,  5. 
Grier.  Kev.  Kobert  S.,  i.  500. 

Kev.  Thomas,  ii.  5. 
Griffin,  Kev.  Dr.  E.  D.,  i.  465,  551,  575;  Ii. 

458. 
Griffith,  Rev.  Timothy,  i.  92. 
Grigsby,  Kev.  K.,  i.  348 ;  ii.  27,  28,  33. 
Griswold,  Rev.  D.  0.,  ii.  259. 
Grosvenor,  Rev.  Mason,  ii.  419. 
Grove,  N.C,  ii.  45. 
Grover,  Rev.  Joseph,  i.  156,  210;  ii.  108. 

Rev.  Mr.,  i.  399. 
Guild.  Rev.  John,  i.  92. 
Gutlirie,  Rev.  James,  i.  503. 
Gwinu,  i.  331,  623. 

Hackcttstown,  N.J.,  i.  572,  573. 
Iladen,  Rev.  Isaac,  ii.  292. 
Hadley,  N.Y.,  ii.  259. 
Hagefstown,  Md..  i.  322,  334. 
Haight,  Rev.  Sylvanus,  ii.  258. 
Halt,  Rev.  Benjamin,  i.  95. 
Hale,  Rev.  Albert,  ii.  422. 
Half-wav  Covenant,  i.  150. 
Ilall.  Rev.  Barnard  R.,  i.  494:  ii.  410. 

Rev.  Daniel,  i.  369,  373;  ii.  96,  97. 

Rev.  Dr.  James,  i.  187,  229,  238,  355, 
360,  362,  364,  365,  455, 469 ;  ii.  55,  56, 
57.  74.  78,  79.  367. 

Rev.  John  W.,  ii.  .333. 

Rev.  Nathan  H.,  ii.  156,  .305,  316,  523. 

Rev.  Robert,  i.  .357 :  ii.  248. 

Rev.  Tliom.is,  ii.  56,  72,  73. 

Rev.  Thomas  J.,  ii.  212,  318,  332. 

Rev.  Wm.  M..  i.  494 
Hallidav.  Rev.  S.  P..  ii.  96. 
Halsev.  Rev.  F..  i.  389:  ii.  99. 

Kev.  Dr.  J.  F.,  i.  515;  ii.  532. 
Ilamlileton.  0..  ii.  126. 
Hamburg,  N.Y..  ii.  110. 
Hamilton,  Ale.xander,  i.  95,  452,  474. 

Kev.  A.,  ii.  3. 

R<'v.  John.  i.  98. 

Rev.  Dr.  W.  T..  ii.  .393. 

Governor,  i.  125. 
Hamilton  College,  ii.  266. 
Hamilton,  0..  ii.  127,  151. 

Union.  N.Y.,  ii.  2.59. 
Hamner.  Kev.  Dr.  James  G.,  ii.  15,  17. 
Hampden-Sidney  College,  i.  281,  347,  H9, 
350 :  ii.  30,  32. 

revival  in.  i.  283. 
Hampshire  Missionary  Society,  ii.  110. 
Hampton,  John,  i.  6,  12, 18,  19,  34, 


586 


INDEX. 


Hanford,  Rev.  Wm.,  li.  286,  296. 
Hanging  Rock,  ii.  63. 
Hanuier,  Rev.  Wm.,  ii.  48. 
Hiinna.  Rev.  A.,  ii.  290. 
Hauna,  Rev.  John,  i.  1S6. 
Hannibal,  Mo.,  ii.  541. 
Jlunover  College,  ii.  348. 
Hanover,  Inil.,  ii.  401. 

N.J.,  i.  41,  95,  207,  303,  561,  573,  574. 

Pa.,  i.  321. 

A  a.,  i.  110, 115, 116, 118,  341 ;  ii.  27,  37. 
Haiflin,  Dr.  R.,  ii.  332. 
Uardistun,  N..I.,  i.  562. 
Hanlwick,  N..!.,  i.  302,  572,  573. 
Hardy,  Rev.  .S.,  ii.  421. 
Hurnier,  I'urt,  ii.  120. 
Harnionv,  N.J.,  i.  572,  573. 

I'a.,  "i.  503,  528. 

Tenn.,  ii.  201. 
Harnell,  Rev.  U.,  ii.  442. 
Harpersftekl,  i.  389,  390 ;  ii.  139. 
Harris,  Rev.  John,  i.  95. 

Rev.  John,  i.  311. 

Rev.  Nathaniel,  i.  311. 

Rev.  Timothy,  ii.  147,  148,  2S8. 

Rev.  T.  S..  ii.  407. 

Rev.  Mr.,  i.  356. 
Harrisburg,  Pa.,  i.  312,  322,  494:  ii.  21. 
Harrison,  S>ir  EdnmiKl.  of  London,  i.  26. 

Rev.  Dr.  Elius,  ii.  15,  22. 

Rev.  J.  C,  ii.  317. 

Rev.  Thomas,  i.  8,  10. 

Gen.  AV.  H.,  ii.  405. 
Harrisonburg,  Va.,  ii.  28,  30,  41. 
narrower.  Rev.  Da^id,  ii.  Ill,  115. 
Hart,  Rev.  Joshua,  i.  156,  278,  369. 

Rev.  Levi,  i.  396. 
Hartford,  Conn.,  li.  118. 
Hartford  North  Association,  i.  438. 
Hart'.s  Lose.  i.  321,  £01. 
Hastings.  Rev.  T.  S..  ii.  259. 
Hat  Creek,  Va.,  i.  107,  .341 ;  ii.  29. 
Hatch.  Rev.  L.  D.,  ii.  46. 
Hattipld.  Rev.  Dr.  E.  F.,  ii.  2.'=.3,  435. 
Hawfields,  N.C..  i.  225, 233, 236, 366;  ii.  45, 

46.  .5.3,  75,  76.  77. 
Hawlev,  Rev.  R.,  ii.  41.3. 
Haw  River,  N.C..  i.  360. 
Hawe.  Rev.  Mr.,  ii.  182. 
Hay.  Rev.  Dr.  P.  C,  i.  558. 
Havden,  Rev.  D..  ii.  151,  292. 
Hays,  Rev.  John.  i.  494. 
Hazard,  Rev.  E.  U..  ii.  422. 

Rev.  Joseph,  i.."m:  ii.  96, 
Hebiird,  Rev.  E..  ii.  291. 
Hebrnn.  N.C,  ii.  56. 

Tenn.,  i.  423. 

T.n..  i.  3! 6,  .348. 
ITomiibiU,  Rev.  S.,  i.  C6. 
Hempstead,  L.I.,  i.  33,  368,  369,  376;  ii.  96, 

97. 
Hempstead,  Stepben,  ii.  421. 
Henderson,  Rev.  .Joseph,  i.  "9A. 

Rev.  Joseph  W..  i.  MS;  ii.  212. 

Rev.  .losiah,  i.  3''0. 

Rev.  Matthew,  ii.  234. 

Rev.  Dr.  Robert,  i.  423, 428, 469 :  ii.  200, 
201 .  332. 

Rev.  S.nmuel.  i.'502:  ii.  5. 
Uendren,  Rev.  John,  ii.  28,  30. 


Henrico,  Va..,  i.  341;  ii.  27. 
Henry,  Rev.  Hugh,  i.  96,  137. 

Rev.  John,  i.  28.  34. 

Rev.  J.  v.,  ii.  258. 

Patrick,  i.  344,  507. 

Rev.  Robert,  i.  96,  122. 

Rev.  S.  C,  i.  562,  572. 

Rev.  Thomas  C.  ii.  62,  65,  67. 
Herrick,  Rev.  H.,  ii.  421. 
Herron,  Rev.  Dr.  F.,  i.  319,  500,  604,  CIO ; 

ii.  226. 
Hervey,  Rev.  Henry,  ii.  290. 

Rev.  Dr.  James,  i.  516,  533. 
Hewatt,  Rev.  A.,  i.  248. 
Ilico.  N.C.,  i.  22:5;  ii.  44,  46. 
High  Bank,  O.,  ii.  126, 128. 
High  Eridge,  Va.,  i.  348  ;  ii.  27. 
Higlibv,  Rev.  J.,  ii.  257. 
Iliggins,  Rev.  David,  ii.  106,  108.  269. 
Hill,  Rev.  George,  i.  267,  503,  510. 
Hill,  Rev.  Dr.  Wm.,  i.  281,  349,  353,  408, 
414:  ii.  16,  27,  28,  29,  30,  4],  102,  226,  547. 
Ilillhouse.  Rev.  J.,  ii.  63,  391. 
Hillsboi-ough,  N.C.,  ii.  47. 
Hillyer,  Rev.  Dr.  A.,  i.l88,  293, 5r.7  :  ii.  532. 
Hindman,  Rev.  Francis,  i.  92;  ii.  12. 
Hinklv,  Uev.  0.  S.,  ii.3M. 
Hinsdale,  Rev.  C.  K.,  ii.  3S6. 

Rev.  J.,  ii.  383,  386. 
Kite.  Joist,  i.  107. 
Hodge,  Rev.  .S.,  ii.  190,  212. 

Rev.  Wm.,  i.  234, 357  ;  ii.  158, 160, 163, 
164,  171,  179,  182, 183,  184,  185,  188, 
190. 
Hoge,  Rev.  Dr.  James,  ii.  127, 149,  290, 297, 
543. 

Rev.  John,  i.  96.  110. 

Rev.  John,  i.  500. 

Rev.  Dr.  J.  B.,  ii.  30.  31,  41. 

Rev.  Dr.  Moses,  i.  187,  196,  .347,  40S; 
ii.  27,  £0,  34-41. 

Rev.  S.  D.,  ii.  30,  298. 

Rev.  Thomas,  i.  521,  527,  533. 

Rev.  Dr.  W.  J.,  ii.  39. 
Holland  Land  Company,  ii.  109. 

Run,  Pa.,  i.  502. 
IloUev.  Pres.  Horace,  i.  419;  ii.  302. 
Hdlliilav.  Rev.  T.,  ii.  258,  259. 
Hollinushead,  Rev.  Wm.,  i.  157  ;  ii.  65. 
Hollistun,  Rev.  E.,  ii.  434. 
Holmes,  Rev.  Dr.  A.,  ii.  71. 

Elder,  ii.  166. 
Holston,  i.  422,  424. 
Holt,  Rev.  E.,  ii.  254. 

Rev.  S.,  ii.  295. 
Home  Mi.ssions.    See  Missionary  Societies. 

germ  of,  i.  163. 
Homer,  N.Y.,  ii.  103,  107,  115. 
Honey  Creek,  0..  ii.  lliO,  151. 
Hood]  Rev.  N.,  ii.  332. 

Rev.  Thomas,  i.  501,  502. 
Hoover,  Rev.  C,  i.  -leo. 
Hopiwell,  Kv.,  ii.  165. 

Md.,  i.  -335. 

N.C.,  i.  225,  358,  366;  ii.  45,  55,  56. 

N  jI'  i'.  29,  3-1,41,  95. 

N  Y.'  i.  380:  ii.  103. 

oiiio.  ii.  l-'^l,  284.      , 

Pa.,  i.  321,  494,  527 ;  ii.  1-31. 

S.C.  i.  362 ;  ii.  £6,  61,  63,  211. 


INDEX. 


587 


nopewell,  Tonn..  i.  423:  ii.  201,  211. 

Va.,  i.  3+;;,  ;Uit:  ii.  27.  3(t. 
Hopkins,  Rev.  Dr.  S..  i.  lOit,  305, 

Hon.  S.  M.,  ii.  oT.i. 
Hopkinsiauisni,  i.  331, 431, 481 ;  ii.  200,  20!), 

21<t,  221. 
II.>pkinsville,  Tcnn.,  ii.  212. 
Horcli,  S.C.  ii.  l«. 
Hoitnn,  Itrv.  .\z;iri  ill,  i.  S3,  90. 

ilev.  Simon,  i.  s:;,  00. 
irosiick.  Rev.  l)r.  Simon,  r.  384,  389,  391 : 

ii.  259,  21)0,  2S0. 
Uotclikin,  K.-v.  .r.  II.,  ii.  103,  lOS. 
Houston,  Rev.  .To^epti,  i.  42. 

Rev.  .Mnitliew,  i.  419;  ii.  15.5,  157, 171, 
175. 

Rev.  Samuel,  i.  231,  348,  350,  427;  ii. 
27,  28,  21. 
Ilovev,  Prof.  E.  O.,  ii.  413. 

Rev.  J.,  ii.  25  ».  * 

Rev.  S..  ii.  423. 
How,  Rev.  Dr.  S.  I!.,  i.  243,  553. 
Howe,  Rev.  Dr.  Geor.;e,  i.  213;  ii.  4-59. 

Rev.  . John,  i.  41H,  lit);  ii.  155. 

Rev.  .1.  P.,  i.  417 :  ii.  155,  157,  18.;!. 
Iloyt,  Rev.  Aril.  ii.  320. 

Rev.  N.,  ii.  3.SS. 
Hubbard,  0.,  ii.  28 1. 
Hubbard.  Rev.  Jolin,  i.  11. 

Rev.  Silas,  ii.  111. 
Hubbell,  Rev.  Natlianiel,  i.  41. 
Hudson,  N.Y.,  i.  3SS,  38);  ii.  9.1,  513. 

Ohio,  ii.  131,  138. 
Hueston,  Rev.  Mr.,  ii.  102. 
Hughes,  Rev.  Jam-s,  i.  26J,  321,  4G7,  618, 
5i0. 

Rev.  .Tosepb  S.,  ii.  128,  149. 

Rev.  Robert,  i.  157. 

Rev.Tliomas  E.,i. 327,  527,  5.30;  ii.l21, 
131,142,281,2)2. 
Huguenots,  i.  210,242. 
Hulburt,  Rev.  Hilanl,  ii.  380,  .389. 
Hume,  Rev.  Mr.,  ii.  332. 
Hum  nor.  Rev.  James,  ii.  41-3,  411. 
Huniplirey,  Rev.  L.,  ii.  287,  412. 
Huun,  Rev.  Zadoc,  i.  3J.1. 
Hunt,  Rev.  II.  W.,  i.  30 i,  572. 

Rev.  Jamos,  i.  123,  156,  331,  339. 

Rev.  Jolin,  ii.  291. 

Rev.  Thorn  IS,  i.  .501,  .513.  52fi,  .533;  ii. 
2)2. 
Hunter,  Rev.  Andrew,  i.  95,  287,  311 ;  ii.  16. 

Rev.  Henry,  ii.  251. 

Rev.  Huniplirei',  i.  358,  361  ;  ii.  55,  56. 

Rev.  Moses,  ii. '4;:i. 

Rev.  Siniue!,  ii.  389. 
Hunting,  Rev.  .Touatliau,  ii.  96,  97. 
Huntiiigilon,  Pa.,  i.  .501. 
Huntington,  L.I.,  i.  3.3,  93,  369,  375,  376; 

ii.  9ii,  97. 
Hiiutin-ton,  Rev.  L.  F.  J.,  i.  563. 
Huntsville,  ii.  38  »,  392. 
Iluilburt,  Rev.  .loseph,  ii.  258. 
Huston.  Rev.  Alexander,  i.  1-56;  ii.  9,  10. 
Hutchins,  Surveyor,  ii.  117. 
Hutchinson,  Rev.  Alexander,  i.  42,  81. 

Rev.  Francis,  i.  -50. 

Rev.  John,  i.  501. 

Rev.  .Mr.,  ii.  102. 
Hutton,  Rev.  Mr.,  ii.396. 


Hydn,  Rov.  Charles,  i.  473. 
Rev.  Mr.,  ii.lll. 

Illinoi.s.  i.  4.59:  ii.  212,  340.  360.  414-423. 
diaraitcr  of  jx/pulation  of,  ii.  415, 416. 
College,  ii.  ;jiN,  419,420. 
Incni-i)iirat!<in,  Act  of,  of  lleneral   Assem- 
bly, i.  411. 
Independence,  X.J.,  i.  .-jDJ. 
Inde|iendencv  at  the  \\  est,  ii.  5,52. 
Independenti  of  Charleston,  S.C,  i.  242. 
of  London,  i.  131. 
Scotch,  i.  3. 
Indian  Cr.c  k.  Kv.,  ii.  156,  166. 

missions,  i.  IBO,  161,  -.^77,  436.  414,  44.5, 
416,  535-.540;  ii.  134,  203,  210,  217, 
;'20,  323,  367. 
River,  Del.,  1.95;  ii.  9,  12. 
Town,  S.C,  ii.  61,  210. 
Indiana,  i.  459;  ii.  340,  348,  359,  395^14. 
College,  i.  516. 

earlv  ministers  and  churches,  ii.  410. 
Pa.,'i.  fOi. 
"  Indiana  Cliurch."'     See  Vinconnes. 
Indianapolis,  ii.  402,  411. 
Indians,  invi\.sions  bv,  i.  319;  ii.  120,  123, 
124,  199. 
mission  to  Catawba,  ii.  78.    See  Che- 
T'okee,  AVvaiidotte,  &v. 
Infidelitv  (Freiich),  i.  283,  296,  .398,  420; 

ii.  10.1,  110.  144,301. 
Inglis.  Rev.  Dr.  Jame-S,  i.  467 ;  ii.  14,  23. 
Insurrection,  AVhiskey,  i.  318. 
Intemperance,  measures  against,  i.  450; 

ii.  237,  335. 
Intrusion,  ministerial,  i.  72,  73,  79,  84. 
loi.va,  ii.  id'. 

Irisli  emigration  to  New  England,  ii.  101. 
members  of  Synod,  i.  60,  93.  96,  97, 156. 
ministers,  danger  from,  i.  52,  66,  67. 
Svnod,  i.  49-.52;  and  Princeton  Col- 
lege, r.u. 
Irvine,  Rev.  AVm.,  i.  340;  ii.  27. 
Irwin,  Rev.  N.,  i.  157.  287.  311,  493. 
Island  Creek,  0.,  i.  526.  5;?3:  ii.  121. 
Islip,  I,.I.,  i.  369.  375:  ii.  96. 
Ithaca,  N.Y.,  ii.  103. 


Jackson,  Gen.  Andrev,-,  i.  188,  313;  ii. 
320. 

Rev.  Thomas,  i.  156. 
Jacksonville,  111.,  ii.  419. 
Jacobs.  Rev.  Henrv.  in  Virginia,  i.  7. 
Jamaica,  L.I..  i.  4,'  11,  33,  61,  95,  3(iS 

96,  97. 
James,  Rev.  George,  ii.  388. 
Jamison,  Rev.  Robert,  i.  61. 
Janewav.  Rev.  Dr.  J.  J.,  i.  311,  460. 
:   477,486:  ii.  1S6. 
Janvier,  Rev.  G.  W.,  i.  492. 
Jefferson  College,  i.  329,  .508,  516,  .5:;i 
139. 

Pa.,  i.  604.  527. 

Te:in..  ii.  212. 
JefrersonviUe,  Inil..  ii.  .398,  400. 
Jenks,  l!ev.  Ahab.  ii.  402. 
Jenning.s.  Rev.  Jacob,  i.  267,  603. 

Rev.  Dr.  0.,  i.  524,  526,  5.33:  ii.  297, 

Jenyns's  '•  Evidences,'"  i.  415. 


210, 


588 


INDEX. 


Jersey  City,  N.J.,  i.  562,  573. 

Jersey,  N.O.,  ii.  56. 

Jessup,  Judge  W.,  ii.  503,  507,  508,  512,  51.3. 

Johnes,  Rev.  Timotliy,  i.  90,  261,  .302,  55-5. 

Johnson,  Rev.  Caleb,  i.  340. 

Rev.  James  II.,  ii.  413. 

Rev.  John,  i.  321,  322,  501. 

Rev.  John,  ii.  13,  99. 

Sir  N.,  i.  243, 

Rev.  Dr.  Samuel,  i.  304, 

Sir  Wm.,  i.  383. 
Johnson's  Fall,  0.,  ii.  126. 
Johnston,  Rev.  James,  i.  321,  .322,  500,  501. 

Rev.  John,  i.  146,  154. 

Rev.  Dr.  John,  ii.  269,  270. 

Rev.  Robert,  i.  oOi,  528,  529. 

Rev.  Wm..  i.  504. 
Johnstown,  N.Y.,  i.  383;  ii.  2.59. 
Joline,  Rev.  John,  i.  302,  380. 
Jones,  Rev.  John,  i.  492. 

Rev.  Joseph  L.,  ii.  388. 

Rev.  Mahichi,  i.  29,  34,  45. 

Rev.  Wm.,  ii.  149. 

Rev.  Mr.,  i.  322. 

Rev.  Mr.,  ii.  257. 

Rev.  Prof.,  ii.  388. 
Jonesborough,  Teiin.,  i.  423;  ii.  20.5,  212. 
Joppa,  N.C.,  ii.  56. 

Jovce,  Rev.  John,  i.  48t,  515;  ii.  2.".S. 
Judii,  Rev.  Benjamin,  i.  389,  3.10,  39J. 

Rev.  Dr.  G.  N.,  i.  562;  ii.  2'V,),  275. 
Junkin,  Rev.  Dr.  George,  ii.  232,  47:3-475, 
488,  497,  503,  505,  512. 

Kansas,  ii.  565. 

Kaskaskia,  ii.  .39.5,  414,  416,  417,  418. 

Keep,  Rev.  John,  ii.  289. 

Keese,  John  D.,  ii.  228. 

Keith,  N.C.,  i.  .366;  ii.  4.5. 

Keith,  Rev.  A.  M.,  ii.  .332. 

Rev.  George,  i.  20,  22,  23. 

Rev.  Dr.  Isaac  S.,  i.  334,  337 ;  ii.  C5. 
Keller,  Rev.  Isaac,  ii.  423. 
Kemper,  Rev.  James,  i.  419;  ii.  124,  156. 

186,  2J2. 
Kendall,  Rev.  Dr.  Henry,  i.  514. 
Kennedy,  Rev.  Henry,  i.  51 1. 

Rev.  John  B.,  i.  232,  365;  ii.  62. 

Rev.  John  H.,  i.  484. 

Rev.  Lucas,  ii.  389. 

Rev.  Robert,  i.  498. 

Rev.  Samuel,  i.  95. 

Rev.  T.  C,  ii.  407. 

Rev.  Wm.,  i.  562. 
Kent,  Del.,  i.  42,  95 
Kent,  Rev.  AratiH.  ii.  421. 

Cliancellor,  i.  US:  ii.  520. 

Rev.  Eliphalet,  ii.  414. 

Rev.  Elisha,  i.  146,  147. 
Kent's  Parish,  i.  147,  14S. 
Kentucky,  i.  403-122,  4.58  :  ii.  1.54-200,  299- 
317,  341,  348  ;  character  of  .settlers, 
i.  403;  religious  destitution  of,  ii. 
299;  great  revival  in.ii.  158;  slavery 
opposed  in.  522. 

Academy,  i.  275;  ii.  301. 

division  of  the  Synod  of,  ii.  538-541. 

exhorters,  i.  454;  ii.  177. 
Ker,  Rev.  Jacob,  i.  1.56,  205  ;  ii.  9,  10,  13. 

Rev.  N.,  i.  153, 156,  '228,  '278,  379,  381. 


Kerr,  Rev,  David,  i.  356 ;  ii.  90. 

Rev,  James,  ii.  409. 

Rev.  Wm.,  ii.  3. 

Rev.  Mr.,  ii.  47,  56. 
Kettletas,  Rev.  Abraham,  i.  95,  192,  386. 
Kilpatrick,  Rev.  Joseph  D.,  i.  358,  365  ;  ii. 

55,  56,  59,  78. 
King,  Rev.  Andrew,  i.  153,  380,  3S1 ;  ii.  99. 

Rev.  Dr.  Barnabas,  i,  659. 

Rev.  Ezra,  ii.  97. 

Rev.  Dr.  Jolwi,  i.  144, 183,  .320,  322, 500. 

Rev.  Richard,  ii.  319. 

Rev.  Samuel,  ii.  177,  182,  190. 
Kingsborongh,  N.  Y.,  i.  .390, 391 ;  ii.  258, 269. 
Kingsbury,  Rev.  Addison,  ii.  291, 

Rev,  Cyrus,  ii.  319,  381. 

Rev.  Ebeiiezer,  ii.  111. 
King's  Creek,  Pa.,  i.  32.3. 
Kingston,  N.H.,  ii.  102. 

N.J.,  i?  303,  663. 
Kingswood,  N.J.,  i.  303,  572, 
Kinkead,  Rev.  John,  i.  98. 
Kirbv,  Rev.  W.,  ii.  419. 
Kirk,  Rev.  Dr.  E.  N.,  ii.  24.3,  259. 
Kirkland,  Rev.  S.,  ii.  266,  267. 
Kirkpatrick.  Rev.  Jacob,  i.  572. 

Rev.  Walter,  i.  401. 

Rev.  Wm.,  i.  156. 

Rev.  Mr.,  ii.  48. 
KishacO(]iiillas,  Pa.,  i.  321,  501,  502. 
Kittredge,  Rev.  S.,  ii.  413. 
Knoll  Creek,  ii.  55. 
Knox.  N.Y.,  ii.  2.59. 
Knox,  Rev.  Hugh,  i.  9.5. 

Rev.  Samuel,  i.  340;  ii.  16. 
Knoxville,  Tenn.,  i.  423,  433,  459;  ii.  201, 

211.  326. 
Knowlton,  N..T.,  i.  57'2. 
Kollock,  Rev.  Dr.  H.,  i.  C61,  563;  ii.  20,  71, 
384. 

Rev.  Dr.  S.  K..  ii.  33,  47,  49. 
Krebs,  Rev.  Dr.  J.  W.,  ii.  245. 
Kuypers,  Rev.  Wm.  P.,  i.  369;  ii.  97. 

Lacv,  Rev.  Drurv.  i.  281,  341,  353  ;  ii.  27,  '28, 

46. 
Ladd,  Rev.  J.  M..  ii.  415. 
Laing.  Rev.  Robert,  i.  41. 
Laird,  Rev.  Francis,  i.  .50:\ 

Rev.  R.  M.,  ii.  13,  4 U. 
Lake,  Rev.  Jacob,  i.  355:  ii.  201. 
Lamb,  Rev.  Joseph,  i.  41.  90,  91. 
Lamington,  N.J..  i.  91,  302,  572;  ii.  104. 
Lanc;i.ster,  O..  ii.  1'27. 

Va.,  i.  341,  343,  349. 
Lang,  Rev.  James,  i.  321.  322. 
L  inier.  Rev.  E.,  ii.  333,  3b0. 
Lansing.  N.Y..  ii.  103.     .  ' 
Lansing.  Rev.  Dr.  D.  C,  ii.  228,  269,  2S0, 
46,). 

Rev.  Jacob,  i.  384. 
Lansingburg.  N.Y.,  i.  384,  385;  ii.  99,  269. 
Lapslev,  Rev.  J.  B.,  ii.  211,  397. 
Lamed,  Rev.  Sylvester,  ii.  319,  374,  414. 
Lathrop,  Rev.  E.,  ii.  393. 
Latta,  Rev.  F.  A.,  i.  466 ;  ii.  3,  4,  7. 

Rev.  Dr.  James,  i.  143,  168,  186,  196, 
228,  287;  ii.4,  488. 

Rev.  John  E.,  ii.  4,  7. 

Rev.  Wm.,  i.  311,  473,  503. 


INDEX. 


589 


Laughran,  Rev.  C,  i.  521. 
Lauicl  Hill,  N.C.,  ii.  45. 

Pa.,  i.  258,  503,  50S. 
Laurie,  Kev.  Dr.  James,  ii.  17. 
Law,  Rev.  M.,  i.  527. 
Lawrence,  Rev.  Davirl,  i.  95. 
Lawreuceville,  N.J.,  i.  663,  574. 
Lay  |)reachiiif;  (sec  Kentucky  exhorters), 

i.  4SI0;  ii.  177,  180,  192. 
Leacock,  ii.  2. 
Leading  Creek,  0..  ii.  128. 
Leak,  Rev.  S.,  i.  156. 
Leavenworth,  Rev.  M.,  ii.  133. 
Leavitt,  Rev.  Jonathan,  i.  157. 
Lebanon,  Kv..  ii.  155. 

O.,  ii.  15";. 

Pa.,  i.  323,  522. 

S.C,  ii.  62,  63. 

Tenn.,  i.  433. 

Va.,  ii.  29. 
Lee,  Rev.  Robert,  i.  .504,  527. 
Leesbur^,  Va.,  ii.  30,  32,  43. 
Le  Grand.  Rev.  Nash,  i.  281,  282,  349,  353; 

ii.  27,  29. 
Lcland,  Rev.  Dr.  A.  W.,  ii.  65,  67. 
Leonard,  Rev.  Abner,  ii.  290. 

Rev.  Silas,  i.  153. 
Leslie,  Rev.  Jonathan,  ii.  139, 142, 144,  286, 

295. 
Letters,  foreign,  of  Presbytery  and  Synod, 

i.  26,  27,  31,  43. 
Lewes,  Del.,  i.  64,  98;  ii.  9,  12. 
Lewis.  Kev.  ,\ina/.iah,  i.  153. 

Rev.  Anizi,  i.  156,  210,  380. 

Rev.  Ichabod,  i.  95,  146,  147,  148,  150, 
152.  379,  381. 

Rev.  Isaac,  ii.  90,  115. 

Rev.  Josiali,  i.  156. 

Rev.  Wm.,  ii.  401. 
Lewisburg,  Va.,  i.  .348;  ii.  27,  28,  29. 
Lewistown,  0.,  i.  518,  540. 

Pa.,  i.  502. 
Lexington,  Ga.,  ii.  69. 

Ind.,  ii.  396. 

Ky.,  i.  405,  411;  ii.  125,  155,  301,  303, 
310,  311,  313. 

Va.,  i.  348;  ii.  21. 
Leyden  Church,  ii.  100. 
Liberal   principles   of   the    Presbyterian 

Church,  i.  286  ;  spirit  of,  470. 
Liberty,  civil  and  religious,  promoted,  i. 

169,  170,  200.  235. 
Libertv  Hall,  i.  348,  .349,  350;  ii.  29,  38. 

Spring,  S.C,  ii.  63. 

Tenn.,  ii.  212. 

Upper  and  Lower,  0.,  ii.  127,  128,  149. 
Licensing  exhorters,  i.  454. 
Licentiates,  ii.  482,  483. 
Licking,  Pa.,  i.  501. 
Lick  Run,  Pa.,  i.  501. 
Ligonier,  Pa.,  i.  .327,  510. 
Linrolnton,  N.C..  ii.  56. 
Linilslev,  Fort,  Pa.,  i.  262. 
Lin.UleV,  Rev.  Jacob,  i.  521 ;  ii.  10.5,  128, 
298. 

Rev.  John.  i.  389,  390;  ii.  104. 

Rev.  Dr.  Philip,  i.  568;  ii.  324,  333. 

Rev.  Stephen,  ii.  121, 128. 
Linn,  Rev.  James,  i.  501 ;  ii.  186. 

Rev.  John,  i.  321,  322,  494,  495. 


Linn,  Rev.  Dr.  John  B.,  i.  311,  474. 
Lippencott,  Rev.  Thomas,  ii.  421. 
Lisle,  N.V.,  ii.  106,  115. 
Little,  Rev.  Jacob,  ii.  290, 
Little  Rarren,  Kv.,  ii.  155. 

Rritain,  N.C.,  ii.  55,  56. 

Limestone,  Tenn.,  i  426. 

Red  Stone,  Pa.,  i.  508. 

River,  N.C.,  i.225;  ii.45. 

River,  S.C,  ii.  62. 
Liverpool,  Pa.,  i.  502. 

Livingston,  Rev.  Mr.,  of  South  Carolina,  i. 
248. 

Rev.  Dr.,  ii.  229. 
Livonia,  Ind.,  400,  401. 
Locke,  N.Y.,  ii.  107. 
Locke,  Rev.  Dr.  N.  C,  ii.  97. 
Lockwood,  Rev.  James,  i.  135. 

Rev.  Mr.,  ii.  111. 
Locust,  Ky.,  ii.  125. 
Logan,  Rev.  Joseph  D.,  ii.  29. 

Rev.  Robert,  i.  399 ;  ii.  30,  104. 
Logansport,  ii.  414. 

Log  College  (see  Neshaminy),  i.  62,  68. 
London,  0.,  ii.  127. 

Union  of  Presbyterian  and  Congrega- 
tional ministers,  i.  6, 19. 
Londonderry,  N.IL,  ii.  101. 
Long,  Rev.  James,  i.  144. 
Long  Canes,  S.C,  ii.  62,  03. 

Creek,  N.C,  ii  56 

Island  churches,  Ac,  i  3,  30,  32.    Sea 
New  York. 

Pond,  N.J.,  i.  562,  574. 

Run,  Pa.,  i.  323,  503,  50  J,  527. 

Street,  N.C,  i.  222. 
Long's  Run,  0.,  ii.  142,  284. 
Loomis,  Rev.  Aretus,  i  504. 

Rev.  Mr.,  ii.  111. 
Lord,  Rev.  Daniel  M.,  ii.  97. 

Rev.  Eleazar,  ii.  228. 

Rev.  Joseph,  i.  155,  241. 
Lost  Creek,  Pa.,  i.  501. 
Lotteries,  ii.  365. 

Louisiana,  i.  459;  ii.  242,  361,  367,  373-382. 
Louisville,  Ga.,  ii.  69,  382. 
Low,  Rev.  Benjamin,  ii.  399,  415. 
Lower  Buffalo,  Pa.,  i.  527. 

Buffalo,  Va.,  i.  518. 

Concord,  Tenn.,  i.  423. 
Lowry,  Rev.  S.  G.,  ii.  411. 
Luce,  Rev  Abraham,  ii.  96. 
Luckv,  Rev.  G.,  i.  335,  339;  ii.  5,  16. 
Ludlow,  Rev.  H.  G.,  ii.  254. 

Rev.  Israel,  ii.  122. 
Lumber  Ridge,  N.C,  ii.  46,  54. 
Lumisden,  Prof.,  of  Aberdeen,  i.  132. 
Luther  on  Galatians,  i.  112. 
Luzerne  countv.  Pa.,  ii.  111. 

N.Y.,  ii.  259. 
Lycoming,  Pa.,  i.  501,  502. 
Lvle,  Rev.  John,  i.  349,  417,  455 ;  ii.  27,  29, 
157,  16.1,  172,  ISO,  182. 

Rev.  Matthew,  i.  281,  342;  ii.  27,  40. 
Lvnian,  Rev  Orange,  ii.  110. 
Lynchburg,  Va.,  ii.  29,  :i3. 
Lyon,  Rev.  James,  i.  156. 
Lyons,  Rev.  Luke,  ii.  259. 

McAboy,  Rev.  L.  R.,  i.  526. 


V- 


TT 


-50 


590 


INDEX. 


McAden,  Rev.  Hugh,  i.  96,  155,  193,  222, 

•236,  366. 
McAdow,  Rfiv.  Samuel,  i.  366,  420;  ii.  45, 

179,  182,  184,  I'JO,  191. 
McAfee,  Rev.  Mr.,  ii.  401. 
ML-Arthur,  Knv.  John,  ii.  292. 
McAulev,  Rev.  Dr.  Tlionias,  i.  486 :  ii.  244, 

247,  502,  503,  505,  607,  508,  512,  532. 
McOalla,  Rev.  Daniel,  i.  157,  186,  190. 

Rev.  W.  L.,  i.  485  ;  ii.  186,  200,  476,  477, 
480. 
McCamiibell,  Rev.  Dr.  John,  i.  433 ;  ii.  211, 
332. 

Rev.  W.  A.,  ii.  3.32. 
McCandless,  Rev.  A.,  ii.  407,  408. 
McCartee,  Rev.  Dr.  Robert,  ii.  250. 
McCaule,  Rev.  Dr.  T.,  i.  236,  238,  356. 
McCays,  N.C.,  ii.  45. 
McCiioril,  Rev.  James,  ii.  312. 
MeClain,  Rev.  Jolin,  i.  3.31. 
McClealaud,  Rev.  Daniel,  i.  157. 
MoCleland,  Rev.  Dr.  Alexander,  ii.  245. 
MeClure,  Rev.  Andrew,  i.  405. 

Rev.  Daniel,  i.  157. 
MeConaughey,  Rev.  Dr.  D.,  i.  496. 
McDonnell,  Rev.  James,  i.  347. 

Rev.  S.  C,  ii.  3.33. 
McCook,  Rev.  Archiliald,  i.  42. 
McGorkle,  Rev.  Dr.  E.,  i.  230,  355,  363,  365  ; 
ii.  55,  56,  78. 

Rev.  Francis,  ii.  332. 
McCowan,  Rev.  Alexander,  ii.  29. 
McCracken,  Rev.  Thomas,  i.  156. 
McCrea,  Rey.  James,  i.  72.  90,  91. 
McCreary,  Rev.  John,  i.  156;  ii.  4. 
MeCne,  Rev.  John,  i.  347  ;  ii.  27,  28. 
McCuUoch,  Rev.  Robert,  i.  356,  362;  ii.  61. 
McDermiad,  Rev.  Angus,  i.  358. 
McDerniot,  Rev.  Angus,  ii.  45. 
McDonald,  Rev.  John,  J.  388,  390,  391. 

Rev.  John,  ii.  421. 
McDougal,  Rev.  Allan,  ii.  45,  74.- 

Rev.  James,  ii.  96. 
McDowell,  Rev.  Alexander,  i.  92. 

Rev.  Dr.  John,  i.  486,  561 ;  ii.  400. 

Rev.  Dr.  W.  A.,  i.  558,  563;  ii.  65. 
McDuffie,  Governor,  i.  363. 
McElhennv,  Rev.  John,  ii.  28,  29. 
McElroy,  Rev.  Dr.  J.,  ii.  232,  215. 
McEwen,  Rev.  Alexander,  ii.  212,  318. 

Rev.  Ebenezer,  ii.  333. 
McFarland,  Rev.  Francis,  ii.  319,  429,  434. 

Rev.  Wra.,  ii.  319,  429. 
McFarquhar,  Rev.  Colin,  i.  157 ;  ii.  3. 
McFarren,  Rev.  Thomas,  i.  157,  321,  322. 
McGarrough,  Rev.  Robert,  i.  504. 
McGee,  Rev.  AVm.,  ii.l55, 158,163, 171, 179, 
182,  190,  191. 

Rev.  Mr.,  ii.  161. 
McGhee,  Rev.  A.,  ii.  332. 
McGill,  Rev.  Daniel,  i.  29,  34. 

Rev.  Hugh,  i.  144,  321,  .500. 
McGinley,  Rev.  A.  A.,  i.  499. 
McGready,  Rev.  James,  i.  234, 266,  358,359, 
420  ;  ii.  5.3,  75, 155, 158, 162, 171, 179, 182, 
184,  190,  395,  397,  398,  400. 
McGregor,  Rev.  James,  ii.  101,  102. 
McHenry,  Rev.  Francis,  i.  81. 
Mcllvaine,  Rev.  J.,  ii.  441. 
Mclntyre,  Rev.  -T.,  ii.  53,  74. 


McKay.  Rev.  R.  K.,  ii.  423. 
.McKee,  Rev.  Wm.,  ii.  12. 
McKeniian,  Rev.  J.  W.,  ii.  414. 

Rev.  Wm.,  i.  98;  ii.3. 
McKinley,  Rev.  D.,  i.  494. 
McKinney,  Rev.  John,  ii.  290. 
McKnight,  Rev.  Charles,  i.  90,  91,  190. 

Re^.  Dr.  John,  i.  .319,  320,  377,  378, 396, 
495,  500  ;  ii.  461. 
McLain,  Rev.  Epliraini,  i.  177, 178, 191. 
.McLean,  Rev.  John,  i.  144:  ii.  29. 

Rev.  Joseph,  i.  527,  537. 

Rev.  Wm.,  ii.  284. 

Rev.  Mr.,  ii.  102,  232. 
McLeod,  Rev.  J.,  i.  222. 

Rev.  L.,  ii.  333. 

Rev.  Dr.  R.  B.  E.,  ii.  232. 
McMaster,  Rev.  Samuel,  ii.  11,  IS. 
McMillan,  Rev.  Dr.  John,  i.  2.57,  259,  323, 
324,  359,  467,  517,  534,  540. 

Rev.  Murdoch,  ii.  45,  52. 

Rev.  Neil.  ii.  391. 

Rev.  Wm.,  i.  42. 

Rev.  Dr.  Wm.,  i.  .524,  526. 
McMordie,  Rev.  Robert,  i,  98, 143, 144,  321. 
McNair,  Rev.  Malcolm,  ii.  45,  52,  54,  73. 
McNeice,  Rev.  John,  ii.  98,  2;0. 
McNeill,  Rev.  Angus  C.  ii.  93. 
McNemar,  Rev.  Richard,  ii.  125,  156,  157, 

174,  176. 
McNutt,  Rev.  A.  G.,  ii.  332. 

Rev.  S.,  ii.  29. 

Rev.  S.  H.,  ii.  413. 
McPhail,  Rev.  G.  W.,  ii.34. 
McPheeters,  Rev.  Wm.,  ii.  28,  46. 
McPherrin,  Rev.  John,  i.  267, 321,  328,  503, 

,509,  528. 
McRee,  Rev.  .Tames,  i.  355,  305  ;  ii.  55,  50. 
McRoberts,  Rev.  Archibald,  ii.  27. 
McWhirr,  Rev.  Wm.,  ii.  64, 71, 72, 385, 387, 

393. 
McWhorter,  Rev.  Dr.  Alexander,  i.  137, 
150,  158,  171,  186,  192,  193,  199,  228, 
232,  238,  261,  288,  289,  300,  345,  551, 
574,  576. 

Rev.  G.  G.,  i.  365;  ii.  62,  63,  387. 

Rev.  Wm.,  i.  420. 
Maccoun,  Rev.  Mr.,  ii.  539. 
Maidonald,  Rev.  Dr.  J.  M.,  ii.  96. 
Mackinaw,  ii.  439,  441. 
Mackintosh,  Sir  James,  ii.  248. 
Macklin,  Rev.  J.,  ii.  333. 
Macnish,  Rev.  G.,  i.  6, 18, 19,  30,  32,  61. 
JIaoirdy,  Rev.  E.,  i.  327, 467,  625,  533,  539, 

5iO. 
JIadison,  Bishop,  1.  341. 
Madison  College,  i.  508. 

Ind.,  ii.  399,  401,  406. 

N.J.,  i.  211,  557,  574. 

V.a.,  ii.  30. 
JIad  River,  0.,  ii.  126. 
Maffit,  Rev.  Wm.,  i.  340 ;  ii.  16. 
Magazine  of  Pittsbm-g  Synod,  i.  540.    See 

Assembly's,  and  New  York. 
Magie,  Rev.  Dr.  D.,  i.  561. 
Magill,  Rev.  Daniel,  i.  107. 
Magoffin,  Rev.  Mr.,  i.  486. 
Magraw,  Rev.  James,  ii.  5. 
Mahon,  Rev.  Wm.,  i.  419;  ii.  157. 
Mahoney,  Rev.  Wm.  B.,  ii.  74. 


INDEX. 


591 


M:ilioiiiiiii.  Pa.,  i.  nDl,  r)02. 

JIaiiKiili.iiil,  N..I.,  i.  29,  34,  41,  95,  574. 

Maine,  I'lislivtciiaiiisni  ill,  ii.  100. 

Jlakcmic,  Kcv.  Francis,  i.  4,  12-10,  18,  19. 

Malta.  N.Y.,  ii.  2o'J. 

Jlallh.v,  Rev.  John,  i.9G. 

-Maiiiiv.  X.C,  ii.  55,  56. 

Jlallclicstrr.  0.,  ii.  1.50. 

Maiiilaiiii.  Kla.,  ii.  394. 

Mamlcvilli'.  Kcv.  S..  ii.  332. 

Manliiis,  X.Y.,  ii.  104. 

Mansfield,  N.J..  i.  302,  572. 

Marcv,  Rov.  Biadfoid,  ii.  1,  90. 

Marietta,  Del.,  ii.  4. 

Ohio.  i.  119,  120,  121,  128;  ii.  148,  152. 
Marion  CoUeirp,  Mo.,  i.  4E0:  ii.  38,  435. 
Marksboidiijih,  N.J.,  i.  572,  574. 
Jlarqiiis,  Hev.  Thomas,  i.  267, 325, 455,  467, 

519,  533. 
Marsh,  Rev.  0..  ii.  442. 
Marsh  Creek,  Pa.,  i.  96,  98,  319,  494,  405, 

496,  497. 
Marshall,  Rev.  Georjic,  i.  522. 
Rev.  James  L.,  ii.  i07. 
Rev.  Robert,  i.  188,  267,  406;  ii.  155, 

168,  171,  174.  176. 
Rev.  S.  v.,  ii.  3S1. 
Rev.  .Mr.,  ii.  1,  226. 
Chief-Justice  John,  ii.  510. 
Mars"  Hill,  Tenn.,  ii.  212. 
Martin,  Rev.  Elon  0.,  ii.  393. 
Rev.  Henry,  i.  95. 
Rev.  James,  i.  04. 
Rev.  James,  1.  321,  502. 
Rev.  John,  i.  96,  123. 
Rev.  Dr.  Samuel,  i.  340;  ii.  5,  8. 
Rev.  W.  W.,  ii.  400,  401,  410,  413. 
Martin's  .Vcademy,  Tenn.,  i.  427. 
M.artinsburg,  N.Y.,  ii.  257. 

A'a.,  i.  107. 
Maryland,  i.  333-337,  460;  ii.  14-16,  345. 
Episcopal  Church  in,  i.  6;  persecution 
in,  i.  16 ;  Eastern  Shore  of,  i.  94, 118 ; 
ii.  9. 
Marvrille  College,  ii.  208. 

Tonn.,  ii.  201,  202,  207. 
>Iason,  Rev.  Dr.  Cvrus.  ii.  252. 

Rev.  Dr.  Erskine,  ii.  254,  255,  258,  502, 

529,  530. 
Rev.  Dr.  John.  ii.  2:54,  246. 
Rev.  Dr.  John  :\I.,  ii.  17.  245. 
Rev.  Mr.,  ii.ni. 
Massachusetts,  Presbyterianism  in,  ii.  100. 
Missionary   .Society,   i.   436;    ii.   119; 
General  A.ssociation,  i.  450. 
Mather.  Rev.  Dr.  Cotton,  i.  28,  42;  ii.  101. 

Ri'V.  Dr.  Increase,  i.  6,  19. 
Mats:m,  Rev.  Enoch,  i.  340;  ii.  IG. 
Matthews,  Rev.  Dr.  John,  i.  523 ;  ii.  CO,  41, 
72,  73,  41.3.  469. 
Rev.  John,  ii.  418,  420,  4."0,  432. 
Rev.  Dr.  J.  M..  ii.  223. 
Rev.  V\!n.,  ii.  1!2,  2"4,  290. 
Rev.  ^Vin.C,  ii.413. 
M.ittituck,  L.I.,  i.  ."3,  3i,m,  91,  069 ;  ii.  95. 
JIai'.rv  countv,  Tenn.,  ii.  210. 
M  lytield,  N.Y..  ii.  2.J9. 
"  Mayflower,"  ii.  IIS. 
.Alaviiard.  AV.  II..  ii.  268. 
Maysville,  ii.  123,  316. 


Mead,  Rev.  Solomon,  i.  146,  149,  378,  381. 
Meadville,  Pa.,  i.  509,  527,  529. 
Mecklenburg  Convention,  i.  224,  235,  237, 

361. 
Mei^s.  Colonel,  ii.  204,  320. 
Memorial  of  1S37,  ii.  498,  503,  516. 
Memphis.  Tenn.,  ii.  328. 
Mendham.  i.  90,  95,  302,  303,  557. 
Mercer,  0.,  i.  527,  529. 
Mercer,  Rev.  Boyd,  i.  521. 
ilercersburg,  i.  320. 
Meronev,  Rev.  Wm.  B..  ii.  45. 
Merritt,"  Rev.  Mr.,  ii.  102. 
-Messenger,  Rev.  ii.  Y.,  ii.  421. 
Miami  country,  ii- 122,  128,  153. 
.Miami  University,  i.  518:  ii.  298,  351. 
Michigan,  ii.  34i;  360,  4:J7-443. 
Middlebiirg,  Va.,  ii.  28,  30,  41. 
.Aliddle  Isl.and,  L.I.,  ii.  97. 

Spring,  Pa.,  i.  319,  500. 
Middlesex,  Pa.,  i.  528,  529. 
Middktown,  Del.,  ii.  4,  5. 
N.J.,  i.  28,  62. 
N.Y..  i.279;  ii.  108. 
Point,  i.  S63.  573. 
Va.,  i.  389 ;  ii.  30. 
Midway,  Ga,,  i.  165, 192, 195,  242;  ii.  64, 70, 

3S7. 
Mifflin,  M'arner,  on  slavery,  i.  283. 
Mifflin,  0.,  ii.  127. 
.Miiiliutown,  Pa.,  i.  501. 
Miles,  Rev.  S.  S.,  ii.  291,  422. 
Mi Iford  Centre,  ii.  127. 
Conn.,  i.  146. 
Del.,  ii.  13. 
S.C,  ii.  63. 
Military  Tract,  N.Y.,  i.  097 ;  ii.  106. 
Mill  Creek,  Pa.,  i.  32;j.  522,  529,  5.33. 
.Milledoler,  Rev.  Dr.  Philip,  i.  377  ;  ii.  244. 
Miller,  Rev.  Alexander,  of  Virginia,  i.  98, 
109,  121. 
Rev.  Alexander,  i.  156,  3S6. 
Rev.  John,  i.  98, 181,  182;  ii.  9,  10. 
Rev.  John  E.,  i.  562. 
Rev.  Samuel,  ii.  292. 
Rev.  Dr.  Samuel,  i.  466,  567;  ii.  186, 
460,  478. 
Millers  Run,  Pa.,  i.  52.3. 
Jlillerstown,  Pa.,  i.  502. 
Mills,  Rev.  Prof.  Henry,  i.  562;  ii.  281. 
Rev.  S:uiiucl,  i.  147,  148,  1.52,  379. 
Rev.  S.  J.,  i.  45S ;  ii.  148,  253,  346,  373. 
Rev.  V\"ni..  i.  l.:6. 
Millstone,  N.Y.,.i.  CO. 
Milton,  N.Y.,  ii.  108, 11.3,  259. 

Pa.,  i.  501,  502. 
Mineral  Spring,  N.C.,  ii.  5-5. 
Mines,  Rev.  V.  S.,  ii.  252. 

Rov.  .John,  ii.  17,  CO,  Z2. 
Mingo  Creek,  i.  327,  0-2. 
Ministers  in  1775,  i.  ICO. 

need  of,  i.  2.5,  6 1,  92 ;  ii.  7.3,  74,  207,  22.5, 
259,  202,  2  7,  .337,  040,  O'G;  whence 
sought,  i.  .31 ;  ii.  CO;  their  preaching 
in  oflier  parishes  ])rohiljited  (see 
Intrusion),  i.  CS;  collegiate  educa- 
tion of,  earlv,  i.  08;  provision  to 
educate,  i.  158, 159,  462 ;  ii.  208,  224; 
certification  of,  i.  283.  Sco  Edu- 
cation. 


592 


INDEX. 


Ministry,  state  of  the,  i.  75 ;  patriotism  of, 
181-194 ;  exposure  and  sufferings  in 
the  war,  18b-194,  2y0. 
state  of,  in  Kentucky,  ii.  58,  193. 
Minnesota,  ii.  565. 
Minnis,  Rev.  Wm.,  ii.  332. 
Minor,  Rev.  John,  i.  380. 
Missionaries,  call  tor,  i.  157,  278,  461,  528; 
ii.  10,  139. 
experience  of,  ii.  74,  139,  403,  408. 
of  the  Assembly,  i.  278,  446,  460.     See 
the  several  States. 
Missionary  Societies,  i.  436,  447,  450;  ii. 

334,  335,  441.  See  Connecticut. 
Missionary  Sociitv,  of  New  York,  i.  436, 
446,"  456;  li.'l^Oi,  217,  307  ;  of  I'hila- 
(lelpliia,i.4.J7 :  Western ^l'ittsbuig\ 
i.  436,  541);  ii.  136,  441 ;  Cnite.l  I'o- 
reign,  ii.  217,  .323,  35.5,  441 ;  Young 
Men's,  N.Y..  ii.  219, 228, 229,  230.  33a, 
401;  EvaUKelical,  N.Y.,  ii.  228,  389, 
416:  of  Mitklle  District,  ii.  228; 
Korthern,  i.  436:  ii.  217,  227,  441; 
rnited  Domestic,  ii.  227-230,  261, 
336,  434,  439,  440;  Genesee,  ii.  228  : 
Union  for  Foreign  and  Domestic 
Missions,  ii.  228;  Pliiladelphia,  i. 
457  ;  Tennessee,  i.  459 ;  Anieric.m 
Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  ii.  355, 
463,  4.)S,  559. 
Bociety,  American  Home,  ii.  261,  335, 
447,  451,  484,  491,  498,  499,  534,  555, 
559-562;  how  formed,  ii.  336,  449; 
commended,  4-15  ;  apprehension 
from,  449 ;  pronounced  injurious, 
513. 
(Foreign)  Society  of  Pittsburg  Synod, 

ii.  454,  492,  498. 
zeal,  ii.  334 ;  lack  of,  ii.  227. 
Mission  churches  among  the  Cherokees, 
ii.  322. 
field  surveyed,  i.  4.36,  458;  ii.  337-347. 
Missions  to  Indians  (see  Indians,  Chero- 
kees, Wyandottes,  Creeks,  &c.)  plan 
of,  i.  537. 
to  the  frontiers,  i.  162, 276 ;  history  of, 
ib.,  278,  280;  of  Synods,  see  Synods, 
committee  of;  in  1802,  i.  443.     See 
Board.  Collections  for,  i.  280;  cause 
of  urged,  i.  280,  447 ;  interest  in  do- 
mestic, i.  295, 4.36,  444;  to  the  Sonlh 
and  Southwest,  ii.  366;  to  Missis- 
sippi Valley,  ii.  72;  to  Ohio,  ii.  130- 
149.    See  tlie  several  States. 
Mississippi,  i.  459 ;  ii.  2 12,  3 12,  352. 361, 371. 
Missouri,  i.  459 ;  ii.  242, 360, 423-437  ;  early 
churches  of,  ii.  429, 430 ;  state  of  morals 
in,  in  1817,  431 ;  cotintles  and  churches, 
432-4.34 ;  Home  Missionary  Society,  ii. 
501. 
Mitchel,  Rev.  James,  i.  340,  342,  468;  ii. 
27,  40. 
Rev.  Mr.,  ii.  102. 
Mitchell,  Rev.  Alexander,  i.  157,  287  ;  ii.  4. 
Rev.  lieiijamin,  i.  525. 
Rev.  Prof.,  ii.  49. 
Mobile,  ii.  389,  392,  393. 
Moderatism  of  the  Scotch  Church,  i.  132, 

133,  317. 
Moderwcll,  Rev.  Wm.,  ii.  1,  321,  383,  387. 


Moffat,  Rev.  John,  i.  95,  153. 
Jlonjpesson,  Roger,  Chief-Justice,  i.  15. 
Monauhan,  Pa.,'i.  306,  320,  494,  498. 
Monotdn,  JId.,  i.  19,  41,  e6,  98;  ii.  9,  13. 
Monongaliela  Citv,  i-  327,  522. 
Monroe,  Mich..  ii."440. 
Moiiteilh,  Rev.  Alexander,  i.  3?6;  ii.  258. 

I!ev.  John,  ii.  438,  439,  440. 

Rev.  Walter,  i.  302,  303,  £63;  ii.  250, 
258. 

Rev.  Wm.  J.,  ii.  413. 
Monteur's  Run,  i.  527. 
Montfort,  Rev.  D.,  ii.  413. 

Rev.  F.,  ii.  292. 

Rev.  P.,  ii.  412. 
Montgomeiy,  N.Y.,  ii.  C69. 
Montgomery.  Rev.  Kenjamin,  ii.  74. 

Rev.  Lcnjaniin  R.,  ii.  62. 

Rev.  Jolin,  i.  347,  361;  ii.  27,  28. 

Rev.  John.  ii.  -122. 

Rev.  Joseph,  i.  156. 

Rev.  Wm.,  i.  364,  365;  ii.  68,  72,  370, 
SfO. 
Montgomery's  Meeting-IIouse,  Ky.,  ii.  165. 
Monthly  Concert,  ii.  L3'i,  3L5. 
frontier's  Creek,  i.  .323. 
Montrose,  Scotland,  i.  316. 
Sloody,  Rev.  Dr.  John,  i.  319,  500. 
Moore,  Rev.  J.  L.,  ii.  4-42. 

Rev.  Thomas,  i.  330,  £03,  520,  540 ;  ii. 
291,  297. 

Rev.  Wm.,  ii.  44. 
Moorfield,  i.  528 ;  ii.  142,  284. 
Moorhead,  Rev.  John,  ii.  102. 
Moreau,  N.Y'.,  ii.  269. 
Jlorehead,  Rev.  Mr.,  i.  44. 
Morgan.  0.,  ii.  142. 
Morgan,  Rev.  G.,  ii.  259. 

Rev.  Joseph,  i.  28,  45. 
Morgantown,  N.C.,  ii.  55,  56,  80. 

Pa.,  i.  323,  504. 
Moriches,  L.I.,  i.  95. 

Monus  County  Associated  Presbytery,  i. 
211,  380;  views  and  proceedings  of,  212- 
215:   project  of,  to  educate  ministers, 
214. 
Morris's  Reading-House,  Va.,  i.  Ill,  120. 
Morrison,  Rev.  Andrew,  ii.  66,  57,  319. 

Rev.  A.  S.,  ii.  212,  232. 

Rev.  Evander,  i.  98. 

Rev.  George,  ii.  17. 

Rev.  Hugh,  i.  322,  501. 

Rev.  James,  ii.  29,  30. 

Rev.  S.  H..  ii.  393. 

Rev.  Dr.  Wm.,  i.  464. 
Morristown,  N.J.,  i.  41, 194,  302,  555,  558; 

ii.  460. 
Blorrow,  Hon.  Jeremiah,  ii.  153. 
Morse,  Rev.  Dr.  Jedediah,  ii.  21,  71,  439. 
Mossy  Creek,  Va.,  i.  347  ;  ii.  28,  30. 
Mountain  Creek,  N.C.,  ii.  56. 

Creek,  Va.,  ii.  30. 

Plain  Congregation,  Ta.,  i.  107,  340. 
Mt.  T-ethel,  Pa.,  i.  302,  572. 

lethel,  Tenn.,  i.  423. 

i:!ienezer,  Tenn.,  i.434. 

IT.Tinou,  N.C.,  ii.  46. 

Holly,  N.J.,  i.  193. 

Jlcrris,  N.Y.,  ii.  104. 

Olivet,  S.C,  ii.  62,  63. 


INDEX. 


693 


Mt.  Pleasant,  Ky..  il.  lo(J. 

Pleasant,  N.t.;.,  ii.  56. 

Pleasant,  0.,  ii.  127. 

Pleiusant,  Pa.,  i.  ^oS,  323,  502,  oOi,  527  ; 
ii.  122,  128,  284. 

Sterling,  Ky.,  i.  417  ;  ii.  155. 

Tabor,  Tenn.,  ii.  211. 

Zion  Church,  Ky.,  i.  411. 

Zion  College,  S.U.,  i.  238,  362;  ii.  209. 

Zion,  Ga.,  ii.  6i). 
Muddy  Creek,  N.C.,  ii.  56. 

Creek,  Pa.,  i.  323,  509,  528. 

River,  Kv..  ii.  15S,  160,  165. 
Muir,  Rev.  Dr.  James,  i.  284,  338,  468 ;  ii. 

1.5,  21. 
Mulberry,  Ky.,  ii.  1.55. 
Miinsou,  Rev.  John,  i.  523. 
M;iuro,  Rev.  Jamed,  ii.  5. 
Miuderkill,  Del.,  ii.  9, 12,  13. 
Murdock,  Rev.  Jonathan,  i.  156. 

Rev.  Mr.,  ii.  257. 
Mui'freesborough,  Tenn.,  il.  212. 
Mirphy,  Rev.  Murdock,  ii.  74,  387. 
Murray,  Rev.  John.  i.  157  ;  ii.  102. 

Rav.  Dr.  Nieliijl.is,  i.  561;  ii.  503. 
Musgrave,  Rev.  Dr.  0.  W.,  il.  15. 
Minkingum  Inlian-s,  i.  102,  252. 

Valley,  ii.  117. 


N: 


211,  316. 


hville,  Tenn.,  i.  424,  521;  i 

UniviTjiity  of,  ii.  32i,  .352. 
Nassau  Hall.     .See  Princeton  College. 
Natchez,  ii.  72,  307,  373,  380. 
Nazareth,  0.,  ii.  150. 

S.U.,  ii.  61,  63. 
Nebo,  i.  529. 

Neely,  Rev.  T.,  ii.  61,  62,  73. 
Negroes,  baotisni  of,  i.  120.     See  Slaves. 
Neill,  R8V.  Dr.  \Vm.,  i.  474,  483;  ii.  99, 

258. 
Nelson,  Rev  Dr.  David,  ii.  313, 314, 435, 436, 
462. 

Rev.  S.  K.,  ii.  156,  306,  31.3,  351. 

Rev.  Thomas  II.,  ii.  211,  332. 

Rev.  Mr.,  1.  469. 
Nesbit,  Rev.  Wm.,  ii.  2S4,  409. 
Neshaminy,  Pa.,  school  at,  i.  61,  68,  69,  91, 

311,  433,  499. 
Neshanock.  i.  528. 
Nettleton,  Rev.  A.,  ii.  .364,  457,  458. 
Nevins,  Rev.  Dr.  Wra.,  ii.  15,  25. 
Njw  Albany,  Ind.,  ii.  399,  400. 
Newark,  N.'j.,  i.  30, 40, 41,  47, 125,  161,  300, 
575. 

N.Y.,'ii.  10.3. 

O.,  ii.  128,  142,  284. 
Newborn,  N.C.,  i.  482;  ii.  46. 
New  Bethel,  Tenn.,  i.  423. 
New  Brunswick,  i.  59,  95,  302,  303,  563. 
Newburgh,  N.Y.,  i.  154,  379,  380,  472;  ii. 

93,  263,  544. 
Newbury,  Rev.  S.,  ii.  214. 
Nowburvport,  ii.  102. 
New  Castle,  Del.,  i.  20,  .34,  41,  59;  ii.  4,  7. 

Ohio,  i.  ,528;   ii.  142,  281. 
Now  Columbia,  Pa.,  i.  502. 
New  Divinity  (see  Hopkinsianism),  i.  434; 

ii.  207,  219,  221. 
New  Dublin,  Tenn.,  i.  422;  ii.  29. 
Newell,  Rev.  Dr.  W.  W.,  ii.  253. 


New  Kiiglnnd,  CliMri  h  and  St.-ite  in,  ii.  100; 
ek'un'iil   in   I'resbyterian  Church,  i.  39, 
90. US,  1, ■,(■,,  ir>7,  240;  ii.  139,  214;  Presby- 
terian churches  in,  ii.  lUO,  102;  Synod 
of,  ii.  102;  "  Kinissaries,"  i.  22,  24,  41; 
Associations  and  Lieneral  Assembly,  i. 
164,  206,  290  ;  intiuence,  jealousy  of,  ii. 
449. 
New  Erection,  Va.,  ii.  30. 
New  Fairticld,  Conn.,  i.  215. 
Newfoundland,  N.J.,  i.  562,  574. 
New  Geneva,  Pa.,  i.  508. 
New  Hampshire,  ii.  100. 
New  Hanover,  N.C.,  i.  223,  233. 
New  Haven  Theology,  ii.  446, 452,  457, 458. 
New  Hope,  N.C.,  ii.  46,  56. 
New  Jersey,  i.  22,  24,  40,  59,  124,  208,  300- 

303,550-576;  ii.339. 
New  Lexington,  Ind.,  ii.  151,  401. 
New  Lexington,  Ohio,  ii.  151. 
"  New  Lights''  (ArniinianJ,  of  Kentucky, 

i.  416;  ii.  175,  199. 
New  Lisbon,  0.,  ii.  142,  284. 
New  London,  Pa.,  i.  64,  66.  136,  138 ;  ii.  5. 
New  Market,  0.,  ii.  126,  150. 
"  New  Measures,"  ii.  457,  501. 
New  Monmouth,  \a.,  i.  348;  ii.  29,  38. 
New  Orleans,  i.  459,  483;  ii.  342,  373,  376. 
Newport,  Tenn.,  ii.  211. 
New  Providence,  Kv.,  ii.  156. 
N.C.,  i.  225;  ii.  81. 
N.J.,  i.  95,  302,  30.3,  562. 
Pa.,  i.  527. 

Tenn..  i.  423;  ii.  202,  205. 
Va.,  i.  110,  345,  348 :  ii.  27,  29,  30. 
New  Rehoboth,  Pa.,  i.  504. 
New  Salem,  ii.  122. 
New  Salem.  Ohio,  ii.  142,  284. 
Now  Scotland,  N.Y.,  i.  382,  389,  390;  ii.2.58. 
"  New  Side"  of  the  Synod,  i.  59,  76,  90,  96, 

145,  227,  .308. 
New  Stuckbridge,  i.  368. 
Newton,  N.J.,  i.  302,  572. 
Ohio,  i.  529 ;  ii.  139. 
Pa.,  i.  311. 
S.C,  ii.  m. 
Newton,  Rev.  George,  i.  366, 367 ;  ii.  55,  56, 
201,  212,  333. 
Rer.  John,  i.  365. 
Rev.  Thomas,  ii.  68,  391. 
Newtown,  L.L,  i.  12,  30,  .33,  193,  369,  375, 
387  ;  ii.  96,  97. 
Pa.,  i.  492. 
i.  95. 
New  Windsor,  i.  153,  154,  194,  379,  380. 
New  York,  i.  145-155,  .368-402;  ii.  95-116, 
243-283,  338;  Western,  emigration 
to,  i.  395,  397  ;  population  of,  i.  398 ; 
churches  in  before  ISOO,  i.402;  pro- 
gress of  the  Church  in.  i.  447  ;  Con- 
gregationalism in,  ii.  113. 
City,  First  Church,  i.  30, 35-39, 44, 376 ; 
churches   in   the  war,  i.  194,  376; 
churches   organized,  i.  377 ;  ii.  98, 
243-257. 
Missionary  Magazine,  i.  400;  ii.  114, 

202. 
Missionary  Society.    See  Missionary 
Societies. 
Nichols,  Rev.  W.,  ii.  422. 


50« 


594 


INDEX. 


NicoU,  Rev.  R.  F.,  ii.  96. 

Niles,  Rev.  John,  ii.  115,  267. 

Nisbet,  Rev.  Dr.  Cliarles,  i.  315. 

Noble,  Rev.  Mr.,  ii.  20. 

Noel,  Rev.  K.  P.,  ii.  423. 

Norfolk,  Va.,  ii.  29,  33,  43,  205. 

Norriugton  (Norritou  or  Norristown),  Pa., 
i.  309,  492. 

Northampton,  N.Y.,  ii.  259. 

North  Bloomfield,  N.Y.,  ii.  108. 

North  Bristol,  ii.  108. 

North  Carolina,  i.  219-234, 355-368 ;  ii.  44- 
60 ;  early  settlers,  i.  220 ;  early  churches, 
222;  revival  of  1802  in,  ii.  75-87;  school 
education  in,  i.  237  ;  ii.  93;  church  pro- 
gress in,  ii.  94 ;  religious  destitution  of, 
i.  225;  ii.  344;  revivals  in,  ii.363. 

North  Carolina  University,  ii.  33,  90. 

Northeast,  Pa.,  i.  529. 

North  Garden,  Va.,  i.  340. 

North  Stamford,  Conn.,  i.  215. 

Northumberland,  Pa.,  i.  322,  501,  502. 
Va.,  i.  343. 

North  and  South  Mountain,  Va.,  i.  109. 

North  and  West,  growth  of  the  Church  in 
the.  ii.  214. 

Northern  Associated  Presbvtery  (see  As- 
sociatfd  Presbytery),  i.  216;  ii.  106,  109. 

Northern  Missionary  Society,  i.  397,  436. 

Nortliwcstcrii  Territory  surveyed,  ii.  117. 

Norton,  Kiv.  II.,  ii.  254. 
Rev.  Setli,  ii.  267. 

Nott,  President  E.,  i.  388, 390, 392, 394, 465 ; 
ii.  258,  269,  278,  543. 

Nott,  Rev.  S.,  ii.  258. 

Nottingham,  i.  91,  92,  1.37,  303,  562 ;  ii.  5. 
sermon   by  Tennent,  i.  129.     See  G. 
Tonnent. 

Nutbush,  N.C.,  i.  226;  ii.  44,  47,  53. 

Oakey,  Rev.  Dr.  P.  D.,  ii.  96. 
Oakham,  Mass.,  ii.  102. 
Oakland  College,  Miss.,  ii.  352,  380. 
Occum,  Rev.  S.,  i.  161,  368,  388. 
Octorara,  i.  42. 

Middle,  i.  98;  ii.  3. 

Upper,  i.  96;  ii.  4. 
Ogden,  Rev.  Benjamin,  ii.  12. 

Rev.  Isaac  A.,  i.  492;  ii.  409,  411. 
Ogdensburu,  N.V.,  ii.  257. 
Ohio,  i.  458^  527 ;  ii.  117-154,  283-299,  339. 

Company,  ii.  117 ;  settlers,  118,  122, 
123,  128,  130;  dangers  from  the  In- 
dians, 120;  destitution  of  Southern 
Ohio,  148 ;  cause  of  education  in,  152. 
Ohin  Universitv,  ii.  126,  298. 
Oil  Creek,  Pa.,  i.  528. 

Creek.  Tenn.,  i.  423. 
Old  Fork,  N.C.,  ii.  46. 
"  Old  Redstone,"  i.  250-268. 
"  Old  Side,^'  of  the  Synod,  i.  59,  64,  76,  92, 
96,  101,  iC8,  145,  227,  308;__ii.  221,472; 
efforts  of,  for  education,  i.  97. 
Olney,  N.C.,  ii.  55,  66. 
Oneida  county,  N.Y.,  ii.  115., 

Indians,  mission  to,  i.  94,  161,  368. 
Onesquithaw,  N.Y.,  ii.  259. 
Onondaga,  N.Y.,  ii.  115. 
Ontario  Association,  i.  401 ;  ii.  114. 

county,  ii.  116. 


Opekon,  Va.,  i.  107, 108,  347,  349 ;  ii.  27,  3a 

Orange,  N.J.,  i.  95,  301,  557. 

Orangedale,  0.,  ii.  125. 

Ordinance  of  1787,  ii.  117,  152. 

Orme,  Rev.  John,  i.  41. 

Orr,  Rev.  Robert,  i.  29,  34. 

Orton,  Rev.  A.  G.,  ii.  383,  386. 

Osage  Indian  Mission,  ii.  323. 

Osborn,  Rev.  Ethan,  i.  311,  472. 

Rev.  Truman,  i.  486;  ii.  15. 
Osgood,  Rev.  John,  i.  155,  242;  ii.  70. 

Rev.  T.,  ii.  441. 
Ostervald's  Notes,  i.  275. 
Otisco,  N.Y.,  ii.  103. 
Otsego  county,  N.Y.,  ii.  115. 
Overture  concerning  foreign  ministers,  i 
67. 

concerning  foreign  missions,  ii.  452. 
Ovid,  N.Y.,  ii.  104. 
Owen,  Rev.  Dr.  John,  i.  174. 
Oxford,  N.C.,  ii.  47. 

N.J.,  i.  302,  572. 

0.,  i.  518. 

Pacolate,  North,  S.C,  ii.  63. 
Page,  Rev.  W.,  ii.  441,  442. 
Painesville,  0.,  ii.  131. 
Paint  Creek,  0.,  ii.  126. 

Lick,  Ky.,  ii.  1.55. 
Paisley,  Rev.  S.,  ii.  45,  74. 

AVm.  D.,  i.  366;  ii.  45,  49,  76. 
Palatines,  i.  381. 
Pakv,  Rev.  Mr.,  ii.  102. 
Palmyra,  N.Y.,  i.  399,  401. 
Pamunkey,  Ford  of,  i.  340. 
Paris,  Ky.,  i.  405,  415;  ii.  156. 

N.Y.,  ii.  95. 
Parker,  Rev.  Dr.  J.,  ii.  254,  382. 
Parkhurst,  Rev.  Samuel,  i.  156. 
Parks,  Rev.  D.,  ii.  74. 
Parmele,  Rev.  R.,  i.  399. 
Parris,  Rev.  Noyes,  i.  41. 
Parsippany,  i.  41,  210,  562,  574. 
Parsons,  Rev.  Jonathan,  ii.  102. 

Gen.  S.  II.,  ii.  117. 
Parties  in  Synod,  i.  64. 
Pastoral  labor  preferred  to  itinerancy,  ii. 

229,  230,  346. 
Paterson,  N.J.,  i.  562,  573. 
Patli  Vallev,  Pa.,  i.  321,  322,  494,  499. 
Patillo,  ReV.  H.,  i.  123,  155,  156,  191,  206 

225,  235,355;  ii.  44. 
Patrick,  Rev.  II.,  ii.  382. 

Rev.  Mr.,  ii.  102. 
Patten,  Rev.  Elam,  i.  156. 
Patterson,  Rev.  A.  0.,  i.  504;  ii.  402. 

Rev.  James,  i.  466,  481,  488,  528,  563; 
ii.  358. 

Rev.  .Tohn,  ii.  380. 

Rev.  John  B.,  i.  501,  502. 

Rev.  Joseph,  i.  191,  266,  324,  325,  518 
ii.  4.59. 

Rev.  Nicholas,  ii.  14. 

Rev.  Robert,  i.  284. 

Colonel,  ii.  122. 
Patterson's  Creek,  i.  322. 
Patton,  Rev.  Dr.  Wm.,  i.  254 ;  ii.  528. 
Patuxent,  i.  29.  34,  41. 
Paw  Creek,  N.C.,  ii.  56. 
Paxton,  Pa.,  i.  64,  312,  322,  494. 


INDEX. 


595 


Paxton,  Rev.  John  D.,  ii.  33. 

Rev.  Wm.,  i.  320,  466,  494,  495. 
"  Paxtoiiy  Boys,"  i.  313. 
Payne.  Rev.  Tlioma.s,  ii.  157. 
Peiicock,  Kov.  Mr.,  ii.  90. 
Pealvs  of  OttiT.  i.  341,  342. 
Peail  Rivor,  Miss.,  ii.  63. 
Pearson,  Rev.  Abel,  ii.  332. 
Peclv,  Rev.  Josepli,  i.  146. 

Kev.  J.  M.,  ii.  432. 
Peekskill,  i.  95,  1-50,  215. 
Peeper,  0.,  ii.  126. 
Poet,  Rev.  S.,  ii.  230. 
Pelagian  errors,  ii.  197  ;  ii.  497. 
Pelliam   N.ll.,  ii.  101. 
Pemberton,  Rev.  E.,  i.  39, 82,  83,  85,  87,  90, 

127, 135. 
Pembroke,  ii.  102. 
Pencarler,  i.  42,  138 :  ii.  4; 
Peufield,  N.Y.,  ii.  103. 
Peiiuinnton,  N.J.,  i.  302,  562. 
Pennsboronsh,  i.  64,  320,  491. 
Peiiiis  Neck,  i.  492. 

Pennsylvania, i. 303-333, 471-o49 ;  progress 
of  tlie  Cburch  in,  472. 
Central,  1.460,471,49-3-502;  religions 

destitution  in,  ii.  338. 
College  of,  i.  106. 

Western,  i.  458;  settlement   of,  2a0; 
Indian  invasion  of,  251 ;  state  of  so- 
ciety in,  253;  hardships  of  ministers, 
254 ;  progress  of  the  Churcli  in,  .534. 
Penny,  Rev.  J.,  ii.  263,  2SS. 
Pensacola,  ii.  331. 
Pent  Gap,  Tenn.,  i.  423. 
Penuel,  Tenn.,  ii.  212. 
Peoria,  111.,  ii.  542. 

Peppard,  Rev.  Francis,  i.  153, 156,  311,  4i3. 
Pe^pia,  i.  91;  ii.  2. 
Perkins,  Rev.  Henry,  ii.  402. 

Rev.  J.  D.,  ii.  1. 
Perrine,  Rev.  Dr.  M.  L.,  i.  465,  562;  u.  98, 
104,  2.52,  281. 
Rev.  Humphrey  M.,  i.  562. 
Persecution  of  Dissenters  :  in  Carolina,  i. 
17,24:3;  in  Jamaica,  11;  in  New  YorlJ, 
12',  35;  in  Virginia,  7-10,10.5-118. 
Perth  Araboy,  N.J.,  i.  561. 
Peters,  Rev.  Dr.  Absalom,  ii.  503,  503,  012. 
Petersburg,  Pa.,  i.  491. 

Va.,  ii.  29,  32,  43. 
Pliarr,  Rev.  E.,  ii.  68,  69,  73. 
Plielps,  Rev.  R.,  ii.  110.  ,„.,,. 

Pliiladelphia,  N.C.,  i.  361;  11.  46,  o4,  bo. 
Philadelphia,  First  Church,  i.  20,  24,  301, 
311,  .530;  ii.  465;  Second,  168,30.5,311; 
Tlii'rd  i.  145;  ii.  306;  churches  and  mi- 
nisters of,  i.  .301-303,  474-492;  ii.  7. 
"  Philadjlpliian,"  the,  1.  479. 
Philippi,  i.  148,  379. 
Philips,  Rev.  C,  ii.  409,  417. 
Phillips,  Rev.  Eb.,  ii.  97. 
Rev.  George,  i.  .32. 
Rev.  J.  W.,  ii.  413. 
Rev.  Dr.  W.  W.,  ii.  232,  244,  250. 
Pickard,  Rev.  John  H.,  ii.  45. 
Picton,  Rev.  Thomas,  i.  311. 
Piedmont,  Tenn.,  u.  212. 
Pierpont,  Rev.  Benjamin,  i.  242. 
Pierson,  Rev.  Abraham,  5.  3-3-40,  48. 


Pierson.  Rev.  John,  i.45,  82,  83,  85,  87,  90. 
Pi.'eon  Creek,  i.  25S,  259,  323,  523,  u2(. 
Pike  Run,  i.  322,  503,  .507. 
Pilcs;.'rove,  N.J.,  i-  -41,  9.'>. 
Pillsbury,  Rev.  Itlianiar.  ii.  96. 
Pine  Creek,  Pa.,  i..;01,  502. 
Pine  Street  Church,  Philadelphia,  1.  145. 
Piney  Creek,  Md.,  i.  321,  501,  502. 
Pipe'Creek,  Md.,  ii.  16, 17. 
Pisgah,  Ind.,  ii.  150,  396,  399. 
Ky.,  i.  414;  ii.  155. 
Ohio,  ii.  150. 
\u..  ii.  27. 
Pitkin,  Rev.  C,  ii.  286. 
Pittenger,  Rev.  N.,  i.  528;  11.  142,  loO,  291, 

407. 
Pittsburg,  i.  256,  206,  323,  503,  504,  510- 

514,  518. 
Pitts  Creek,  ii.  11. 
Pittsgrove,  N.J.,  i.  -311,  492. 
Pitts  Townsliip,  i.  £03. 
Plain  Grove,  i.  528,  529. 
Plan  of  Union,  i.  437,  438:  its  origin,  393- 
396;  Congregational  sympathy  with 
it,  401 ;  ii.  112 ;  operation  of,  ii.  112 ; 
condemned,  483 :  its  abrogation  de- 
manded, 485,  490,  491,  499;  abroga- 
tion of,  504,  511;  by  Albany  Con- 
vention, 556. 
Plan-of-Uniou  churches,  ii.  454. 
Plane,  1.  529. 
Piatt,  Rev.  A.  W.,  ii.  258,  259,  407. 

J.  W.,  ii.  258.  389. 
Plattslmrg,  i.  385,  .399;  ii.  99. 
Pleasant  Grove,  N.J.,  i.  302,  .572,  573. 
Point,  Kv-,  ii-  155,  166. 
Yalley,  N.Y.,  i.  147, 151,  377,  380. 
Valley,  0.,  ii-  284. 
Plumb  Creek,  i.  503,  504. 
Plumer,  Rev.  Dr.  W.  S.,  ii.  458,  503,  506, 

507,  510,  512,  547. 
Plymouth  Church,  i.  2. 
Poage,  Rev.  A.  W.,  ii.  291. 
Poke  Run,  i.  323,  503,  507. 
Poland,  0.,  i.  -528;  ii.  142,  284. 
Pomeroy.  Rev.  Mr.,  of  Connecticut,  1.  88. 
Pompev,  N.Y.,  ii.  103,  107- 
Pontiac,  ii.  440. 
Pope,  Rev.  ¥..  ii.  332. 
Poplar  Tent,  N.C.,  i.  225,  2.38;  ii.  55. 
Porter,  Rev.  Dr.  David,  i.  465;  11.  99,  228, 
269,  273,  503. 
Rev.  Elienezer,  ii.  458. 
Rev.  Francis,  ii.  56. 
Rev.  Francis  H.,  ii.  56,  389,  391,  394. 
Rev.  Jeremiah,  ii.  422. 
Rev.  John  D.,  ii.  29. 
Rev  Robert,  ii.  267. 
Rev.   Dr.  Samuel,  i.  267,  324,  467,  503, 

507. 
Rev.  Stephen,  ii.  96,  228,  2oS. 
Post,  Rev.  M.  M.,  ii-  414- 

Dr-  Reuben,  ii.  17,  19. 
Potiito  Garden,  Pa.,  1.  32.3. 
Potter,  Rev.  Lvman,  i.  5.33;  11. 122. 

Rev.  Wm.,  ii.  392. 
Potts.  Rev.  Dr.  George,  ii.  252,  .380. 
Rev.  George  C,  i.  466,  474,  480. 
Rev.  Wm.  S.,  ii.  435,  436. 
Poughkeepsie,  i.  95, 147,  149,  215,  216,  379. 


596 


INDEX, 


Pound  Ridge,  i.  215,  379,  380. 

Powell,  Rev.  Howell,  i.  29,  34. 

Power,  Rev.  Dr.  James,  i.  257,  258, 323, 503, 

505. 
Prairie,  0.,  ii.  126. 
Prather,  Rev.  L.,  ii.  73. 
Pratt,  Rev.  H.  S.,  ii.  386,  387. 

Rev.  N.  A.,  ii.  388. 
Presbyterian  Cliurch  in  this  country,  the 
growth  of  the,  i.  294,  295,  450,  457 ; 
ii.  213,  334,  366;  spirit  of,  i.  1,  21,  2-5, 
26  31  45,  46,  54,  169,  173,  199,  205, 
206,  267,  470;  ii.  218,   222,  288,  443, 
444,  499-501. 
sympathy  in  New  England,  i.  396, 438; 
in  New  York,  ii.  112 ;  strength  of,  in 
1840,  ii.  537 ;  in  1864,  561. 
system  objected  to,  i.  208,  203,  374. 
zeal,  ii.  453,  459. 
Presbyterians,  origin  of  the  name  in  Vir- 
ginia, i.  113 ;  regarded  as  Whigs,  i.  ISO, 
189. 
Presbytery.    See  Associated. 

the  first  in  this  country,  i.  18, 24;  let- 
ters of,  27 ;  new  members,  2S. 
Abins^don,  i.  234,  269,  355,  366,  422, 

424,  427 ;  ii.  200, 212,  317.  548. 
Alabama,  ii.  66,  213,  391. 
Alabama,  North,  ii.  213, 265,  318,  391, 

392. 
Alabama,  South,  ii.  213. 
Alliany.  i.  294, 388,  441 ;  ii.  99, 113,  225, 

243,  541. 
AUeghanv,  i.  472,  530;  ii.  213. 
Alton,  h.  503,  501. 
Amity,  ii.  382,  500. 
Angelica,  ii.  266,  365. 
Arkansas,  ii.  500. 
Associate,  of  Philadelphia,  i.  166. 
Athens,  ii.  213,  281,  231,  513. 
Baltimore,  i.  209, 334, 452 ;  ii.  14, 17, 19. 
Bath,  ii.  103,  213. 

Beaver  (see  Hartford  Presb.),  i.  530. 
Bedford,  ii.  365,  500. 
Bethel,  ii.  213. 
Blairsville,  ii.  365. 
Buffalo,  ii.  21-3,  265. 
Caledonia,  ii.  550. 
Carlisle,  i.  142,  269,  311,  471,  491:  ii. 

460,535,516. 
Cayuga,  ii.  103, 107, 10,1,  112. 
Centre  of  Illinois,  ii.  365,  412. 
Champlain,  ii.  100,  2-57,  509. 
Charleston,  i.  155,  231,  249,  293. 
Charleston  Union,  ii.  67,  213,  237,  525, 

549. 
Chemung,  ii.  .500. 
Chenango,  ii.  266,  365. 
Chillicotlie,  ii.  281,  291. 
Cincinnati,  ii.  213,  284,   291,  463,  543, 

550. 
Cleveland,  ii.  283,  284,  290,  365. 
Clinton,  ii.  3S2,  444,  550. 
Columbia,  i.  441  ;  ii.  99,  100,  113,  500. 
Columbus,  ii.  284,  290,  543. 
Concord,  i.  295,  365;  ii.  44,  55,  525. 
Cortland,  Ii.  103,  213,  266. 
Crawfordsville,  ii.  365,  412,  550. 
Cumberland,  i.  455 ;  ii.  179, 191. 
Delaware,  ii.  444. 


Presbytery,  Detroit,  ii.  283,  365,  442,  629. 
District  of  Columbia,  ii.  17,  213,  647, 

550. 
Donegal,  i.  65,  76,  108,  135,  141,  142, 

144,  145,  269. 
Dutchess  County,  i.  145,  269,  368,  378. 
Eastward,  of  the,  ii.  102. 
EbeUL'zer,  ii.  213. 
Elizabethtown,  ii.  213,  466,  500. 
Elk  (Cumberland  Con.),  ii.  191. 
Erie,  i.  471,  503,  527,  534;  ii.  283,  550, 
Erie  (1843),  ii.  546. 
Payetteville,  ii.  49,  55. 
Flint  River,  ii.  388,  444. 
French  Broad,  u.  213,  325,  332,  641. 
Genesee,  ii.  213,  265. 
Gene va, i. 441 ;  ii.  103, 109, 112, 114, 529. 
Georgia,  ii.  66,  69,  213,  386,  388. 
Good  Hope,  ii.  444. 
Grand  River,  i.  533,  534;  ii.  147,  283. 
Greenbrier,  ii.  500. 
Green  River,  ii.  541. 
Greenville,  i.  367 ;  ii.  201. 
Hanover,  i.  110, 141, 145, 155,  269,  340; 

ii.  27,  30,  40,  42. 
Hanover,  East,  ii.  365,  549. 
Hanover,  West,  ii.  365,  549. 
Harmony,  ii.  65,  237. 
Harmony,  Ky.,  ii.  541. 
Harrisburg,  ii.  546. 
Hartford,  ii.  142,  283,  284. 
Holston,  ii.  318,  324,  365,  541,  550. 
Hopewell,  i.  365;  ii.  44,  68,  388. 
Hudson,  i.  295,  379,  380;  ii.  99. 
Huntingdon,  i.  295,  322,  471,  500,  535. 
Huron,  ii.  213,  283. 
Illinois,  ii.  348,  365. 
Indianapolis,  ii.  365,  412. 
Jersey,  i.  550. 
Kaskaskia,  ii.  365. 
Lancaster,  i.  142 ;  ii.  128, 148,  284,  290, 

613. 
Lewes,  i.  68, 141,  269 ;  ii.  9, 13, 472,  535, 

5-16. 
Lexington,  i.  269,  340,  345;  ii.  27,  29, 

30,  40. 
Lexington,  South,  ii.  667. 
Lexington,  West,  i.  295;  ii.  154,  155, 

156. 
Logan  (Cumberland  Con.),  ii.  191. 
Logansport,  ii.  412,  500. 
Londonderry,  ii.  100,  103,  243  500. 
Long  Island,  i.  30,  32 ;  ii.  95.    See  Suf- 
folk. 
Long  Island,  Second,  ii.  444. 
Loraine,  ii.  -500. 
Louisiana,  ii.  500. 
Louisville,  ii.  197. 
Madison,  ii.  213,  412,  448. 
Marion,  ii.  500,  543,  550. 
Mauniee,  ii.  500. 
Meadville,  ii.  546. 
Mecklenburg,  ii.  213. 
Medina,  ii.  500. 
Miami,  ii.  148,  151,  284,  291. 
Mississippi,  ii.  318,  .367,  .372.  380. 
Missouri,  ii.  213,  -318,  432,  434,  435. 
Monroe,  ii.  443,  444. 
Montrose,  ii.  444,  500,  646. 
Morgantown,  ii.  500. 


INDEX. 


597 


Presbytery,  Muhlpiiberg,  ii.156, 191, 197. 
Nashville  (Cuniberlauil),  ii.  lUl. 
Niisbville,  ii.  500. 
Newark.  li.  113,  213,  500,  545,  .546. 
New  Brunswick,  i.  titi.  70,  71,  72.  75, 

80.  S2,  8.i,  88,  90,  91,  92, 100,  140,  100, 

209,  300,  550,  562:  ii.  490.  600. 
Ni'wliiirvi.ort,  ii.  100,  21.3,  483,  5.50. 
New  Castle,  i.  30.  34,  63,  76,  S5,  90, 114, 

141,  142,269:  ii.  2.  13,233. 
Newton,  i.  550,  572;  ii.  213,  500. 
New  Yt.rk,  i.  66,  77,  84,  90.  140.  14r, 

146,  160, 162,  208,  269,  300,  368,  550  ; 

ii.  97. 
New  York  Seconil,  ii.  97,  213. 
New  York  Third,  ii..365,  463,  472,  483, 

500,  628. 
Niagara,  ii.  213.  265. 
North  River,  ii.  213,  550. 
Northuniberlauil,  i.  472,  C02,  535,  540. 
Ogdensbnrg,  ii.  213. 
Ohio,  i.  295,  324,  471,  517,  534;  ii.  1.30, 

134. 
Oneida,  i.  441 :  ii.  100.  257. 
Onondaga,  i.  441 :  ii.  103, 107, 109, 112. 
Ontario,  ii.  103,  213,  265. 
Orange,  i.  155,  228,  269,  355,  367 ;  ii. 

44,49,  65,  366. 
Oswego,  ii.  213.  257,  258. 
Otsego,  ii.  100,  213,  257,  258. 
Ottawa,  ii.  500. 
Oxford,  ii.  284,  291,  365,  412. 
Paisley  (Scotland),  i.  156. 
Palestine,  ii.  444. 
Palnu-r,  ii.  102. 
Peoria,  ii.  500. 
Philadelphia,  i.  .30.  34,  141,  142,  269, 

303,  304,471;  ii.  450,  460,  467,  470, 

471.  486. 
Pliiladelphia  Second,  i.  143,  144,  145, 

1(50:  ii.  213,  444,  470,  472-474,  535, 

546. 
Philadelphia  Third,  ii.  444,  459,  471, 

478,  514.  535,  546. 
Philadelphia  Fourth,  ii.  444,  546. 
Pittsburg,  ii.  546. 
Portage,  i.  533.  534;  ii.-213,  283. 
Providence,  ii.  .541. 
Redstone,  i.  250,  262, 257,  265,  269.  323, 

471,5:34. 
Richland,  ii.  213,  284,  290,  543. 
Roanoke,  ii.  55.  500. 
Rochester,  ii.  213.  265. 
Rockawav.  ii.  546. 
St.  Charl(-s.  ii.  435.  444.  541,  6.50. 
St.  Jo-epli.  ii.  435.  443,  4U. 
St.  Lawrence,  ii.  100,  213,  257,  258. 
St.  Louis,  ii.  444. 
S.aleni,  ii.  102.  103. 
Salem,  ii.  213.  404.  410. 
Saiiganion,  ii.  .305. 
Schuvler.  ii.  444. 
Shilo'h.  ii.  197,  213,  318,  325,  333. 
Sidney,  ii.  500. 
Snow  Hill,  i.  30. 
South  Carolina,  i.  154,  157,  240,  247, 

219,  269,  355. 350, 367  ;  ii-  44.  60.  525. 
South  Carolina  First,  i.  295;  ii.  66. 
Sontii  Carolina  Second,  i.  295;  ii.  66. 
Springfield  i, Secession,  liy.),  ii.  174. 


Presbvterv,  Stcnbenville,  i.  472,  532,  534; 
■ji.  213,284,  291. 
SuiTolk,  i.  94,  140,  146,  199,  269,  274, 

368,  .•574:  ii.  518. 
SuOulk,  coniiuittee  to  confer  with,  i. 

200. 
Sus(iuehanna,  ii.  113,  213. 
Tabor,  ii.  441. 
Teniie.-see.  West,  ii.  197,  211,  212,  318, 

325,  367,  372. 
Ticisja,  ii.  266.  365. 
Tunibigliee,  ii.  306.  .381. 
Transylvania,  i.  269,  284,406.422;  ii. 

12\  151,  1.56,  177.  188,  189,  622. 
Troy,  ii.  10).  213,  243,  500,  550. 
Truniliull,  ii.  283,  365. 
Tu.sialoosa,  ii.  392,  i'OO. 
Vnion,  i.  296.  ::67  ;  ii.  200,  203,  207,  212, 

317,  318,  321,  3:;2,  321,  332,  542. 
Yincennes,  ii.  213,  412. 
Wabash,  ii.  213,412. 
Wasliinntoii,  i.  2-io.  472,  6-".2,  534;  ii. 
125,  12S  US.  149.  154,  150,  213,  284. 
■\Vatertown,  ii.  213,  257,  258. 
"West  Lexington,  i.  295;  ii.  1.54,  155, 

156.  539. 
■Western  District,  of  the,  ii.  365. 
"Wilmington,  ii.  444,  472,  514,  6.35,  546. 
Winchester,  i.  295,  34S ;  ii.  27,  29,  30, 

40,  547,  518. 
Wooster.  ii.  500,  543. 
Price,  Kev.  Jlr.,  of  Kentucky,  ii.  540. 
Prime,  Kev.  Ebene/.er,  i.  95. 

Rev.  Dr.  N.  S.,  i.  207 ;  ii.  96,  269,  276 
Prince  Kdward,  Ya:,  i.  107. 
Prince,  Rev.  Erie.  ii.  441.  412. 
Princeton,  N.J.,  i.  193,  301,  303,  561,  663; 

ii.  32. 
Princeton  College,  i.  96,  97,  105,  125-135, 
15S,  159,  196,  462,  563;  ii.  105;  first 
trustees  of,  i.  126. 
Professors,  ii.  46;3,  616. 
Seminary,  i.  463;  ii.  28,  226. 
Princetuwn,  N.Y'.     See  Currie's  Bush. 
Probationers,  directions  for,  1.  1.58. 
Procter,  Rev.  D.  C,  ii.  SOS,  402. 
Professor  of  Divinitv  at  Princeton,  i.  163, 
462. 
of  Divinity  in  each  Synod,  i.  443. 
Protest  of  1721,  i.  45  ;  of  Webb  and  others, 
47  :  of  1741,  64,  77,  79, 130:  against  the 
exclusion  of  the  New  Brunswick  Breth- 
ren, 83:  of  Dr.  Duffield,  ii.  516. 
Protests  against  the  exscinding  acts,  ii. 

614,  616. 
Proudfit.  Rev.  Dr.  James,  ii.  227,  234,  235. 
Providence,  N.C.,  ii.  56. 
N.Y..  i.  379. 
Pa.,  i.  309,  493. 
Ten II.,  i.  423;  ii.212. 
Aa.,  i.  .340:  ii.  29. 
Psalmody,  \.  167, 291,  320,  407,  409,  411 ;  ii. 
2.;7,  .•;65. 
Rankin's  overture  concerning,  i.412. 
Publication  cau.se,  germ  of,  i.  166,  357,  358, 
447. 
committee,  ii.  ."ifi-". 
I'niiuski,  Tenn..  ii.  212. 
Pumroy,  Rev.  Saiiuiel,  i.  30,  32. 
Piu'ity,  N.C.,  ii.  56. 


598 


INDEX. 


Purity,  S.C.,  ii.  61. 
Term.,  ii.  212. 
Putnam,  General  Rufns,  ii.  117, 153. 
Pymatuning,  i.  529;  ii.  142. 

Quaker  Meadows,  N.C.,  ii.  55,  56. 
Quarternjan,  Rev.  R.,  ii.  387,  <5S8. 
"  Qut-en's  Mii.-*euni,'"  i.  232,  230,  237. 
Qu(-puiici),  Mil.,  ii.  12. 
Quillin,  Rev.  Wni.,  ii.  332. 

Raccoon,  Pa.,  i.  518,  541. 

Radnor,  ii.  128. 

Kaft  Swamp,  N.C.,  ii.  45. 

Rahway,  i.  95,  105,  302,  303,  562. 

Raleigh,  N.C.,  ii.  46. 

Ralston,  Rev.  Dr.  S.,  i.  327,  522. 

Rev.  .Mr.,  i.  485. 
Raniali,  N.C.,  ii.  65. 
Ramapo,  N.J.,  i.  562,  574. 
Ramsey,  Rev.  S.  G.,  i.  433,  469;  ii.  20L 

Rev.  Wm.,  i.  95,  228. 

Rev.  Wni.,  i.  486. 
Ran<l()lpli,  John,  ii.  35. 

I'eyton,  i.  118. 
Bankin,  Rev.  Adam,  i.  291,  405,  410,  426. 

Rev.  John,  i.  420;  ii.  11,  158,  163,  171, 
176,  179,  182, 184,  190,  291. 
Rannells,  Rev.  S.,  i.  415;  ii.  156,  157,  180. 
Ranters,  ii.  146. 
Rattlesnake,  N.C.,  ii.  45. 
Read,  Rev.  Dr.  Charles,  ii.  2.50. 

Rev.  Clement,  i.  349,  353,  408;  ii.  29. 

Rev.  Dr.  Tlionuis,  i.  144, 156, 192,  467 ; 
ii.  1,  3,  6. 
Reading,  Pa.,  i.  492. 
Reading  sermons,  i.  159. 
R,eddick,  Rev.  John,  i.  529. 
Red  Banks,  O.,  ii.  165. 
Red  Clay,  Del.,  i.  98;  ii.  3,  5. 
Red  House,  N.C.,  i.  236;  ii.  45. 
Red  Oak,  0.,  ii.  125,  126,  150. 
Red  River,  Ky.,  ii.  158, 160. 
Red  Stone,  Pa.,  i.  323. 
Reed,  Rev.  Isaac,  ii.  400, 401,  402,  403,  410. 

Rev.  Israel,  i.  302,  303. 

Rev.  John,  i.  504. 

Rev.  S.,  i.  526. 

Rev.  Wm.,  ii.  284. 

Rev.  Mr.,  i.  408. 
Reese,  Rev.  Thomas,  i.  1.57,  228,  355. 
Reeve,  Rev.  Aimer,  i.  95,  153. 

Rev.  Nathaniel,  ii.  96. 
Reformed  Dutch  Church,  correspondence 
with,  i.  202.    See  Correspondence. 

Presbvtery,  ii.  235. 
Roliohoth,"  Md.,  i.  34,  96,  98. 

Pa.,  i.  266,  322,  503,  504. 
Reid,  Rev.  George,  ii.  64,  67,  73. 

Rev.  Henry,  ii.  62. 

Rev.  Josei)h,  ii.  29. 

Rev.  AVm.  S.,  ii.  29,  33. 
Religion,  decay  of,  i.  69,  29G;  ii.  500. 
Remley,  Rev.  M.  A.,  ii.  332. 
Rensselaerville,  N.Y.,  ii.  2.59. 
Reunion  of  the  Church  fiivored,  ii.  567,  570. 

of  Synods,  i.  lOt ;  plan.s  for,  82,  84,  85, 
87,  99,  100,  103;  basis  of,  138. 
Revival  of  1740,  effects  of,  i.  72,  87  :  vindi- 
cated, 83. 100, 140 ;  of  1799,  298,  299. 


Revival,  the  Great,  in  Kentucky,  ii.  158, 
309,  360;  effects  of.  ii.  195;  locality 
of  its  origin,  ii.  196. 
(1SOO-1S03)  in  New  Jersey,  i.  574;  in 
New  York,  i.  403;  ii.  107.  116,  259, 
264;  ir  North  and  South  Carolina, 
ii.  75;  ,n  Ohio,  ii.  l4l,  145,  146,  3.;8; 
iu  Ten  lessee,  ii.  201,  L02;  in  Vir- 
ginia, i..  42  :  in  Western  New  Y.u  k, 
i.  400;  in  Western  Pennsylvania,  i. 
328,  332,  333,  540-549. 
Revivals,  reported  ( If  00-181 5).  i.448:  (1 816- 
1825),  ii.  215 ;  at  Newark  (1794)  i.302; 
Biiltimore,  ii.  25. 
general  spread  of.  ii.  £34,  3C6-S61. 
in  colleges,  ii.  226. 

means  of,  in  Western  New  York,  ii. 
114,  457;  extravagance  of,  in  Ken- 
tucky. 173  ;  eflect  of,  215  :  judgment 
of,  by  Synod  of  Philadelphia,  ii.  222. 
system  of,  al)used,  ii.  457. 
Revolutionary  War,  i.  173-198;  influence 
of,  on  colleges,  195;  on  the  cause  of  re- 
ligion, 196,  235,  296. 
Rexford,  Rev.  L.  S.,  ii.  259. 
Reynolds,  Thomas,  of  London,  i.  28,  29. 
KhcT,,  Rev.  John,  i.  526,  533;  ii.  292. 

Rev.  Joseph,  i.  1.57. 
Rice,  Rev.  David,  i.  156,  276.  284,  404,  411 ; 
ii.  123, 153, 169, 175, 178,  ISO,  192, 301. 
Rev.  Dr.  Benj.  H.,  ii.  29,  32,  250. 
Rev.  Dr.  John  H..  i.  468 ;  ii.  29,  31,  35, 

353,  355,  452 ;  his  overture,  ii.  452. 
Rev.  Dr.  Nathan  L.,  ii.  538,  539. 
Rich,  Rev.  Charles,  ii.  19. 
Rich  Cove,  Va.,  i.  340. 
Richards,  Rev.  Aaron,  i.  95,  105,  190,  302, 
303. 
Rev.  Dr.  James,  i.  465, 551, 555 ;  ii.  226, 
281    532 
Richardson,  Rev.  AVm.,  i.  123,  233. 
Richardson,  N.C.,  ii.  56. 

S.C,  ii.  63. 
Riclifield,  0.,  ii.  138. 
Richland,  0.,  i.  524,  5.33. 
Richmond,  N.Y.,  ii.  113. 

(see  Yellow  Creek),  i.  526,  533. 
theatre  burned,  ii.  31. 
Ya.,  ii.  29,  30,  31,  43. 
Rickaway,  O.,  ii.  128. 
Rickhow,  Rev.  Jacob,  ii.  372,  380. 
Riddle,  Ricv.  Dr.  D.  H.,  i.  514. 
Ridge,  Tenn.,  ii  160,  165. 
Riggs,  Rev.  Cyrus,  i.  529;  ii.  422. 

Rev.  Elias,  i.  303,  £62. 
Riley,  Rev.  Dr.  II.  A.,  i.  514. 
Rimm's  Creek,  i.  423;  ii.  55,  56,  201. 
Ripley,  Rev.  Wm.  B.,  i.  389,  392. 
Rising  Sun.  Ind.,  ii.  401. 
Roan.  Rev.  John,  i.  95,  109,  115,  143. 
Robliins,  Rev.  James,  ii.  267. 
Rev.  Ludovicus,  i.  521. 
Rev.  S.  P.,  ii.  121. 

Rev.  Thomas,  i.  544;  ii.  137,  138,  141. 
Roberts,  S.C,  ii.  61,  63. 
Robertson,  Rev.  James,  ii.  292. 
Rev.  S.,  ii.  96,  97. 
Rev.  S.  B.,  i.  419;  ii.  156,  395. 
Robituson,  Rev.  Charles  S.,  ii.  397,  427,  43a 
Rev.  Prof.  Edward,  ii.  502. 


INDEX. 


Robinson,  Rev  .Tames,  ii  12S. 

Rev  Jainos,  i  o4l ;  ii.  2',t. 

Ke\.  Ur.  Jolin,  I.  238,  364;  il.  47,  51, 
56,  59. 

Rov.  Jon.itlian.  ii  97. 

Rev  .Jo.scpli,  ii  411 

Ruv.  .^aniuel,  i  4U". 

Rov.  Wni.,  i    72,  90,  91,  95,  109,  114, 
'Hi. 

Uev.  \Vm.,  ii.  126,  151,  155,  410. 
UiKli  ■ster,  N.Y  ,  ii   104,  260,  261,  263. 
It  K  k,  ii  5. 

11  Kk:i\vav,  N.J.,  i.  559. 
iliK-ktiili.'N.C,  i.  366;  ii.  45. 

Va.,  i.  107,  3U;  ii.  29. 
H  ick  Spiiiig,  Va.,  i  423, 
H.ck.y  Hill,  N.C.,  i.  23S. 

Mount,  Tenn.,  ii.  212 

River,  N.C.,  i.  224,  225,  364;  ii.  55. 
Rucky  River,  S.C,  ii.  61,  63. 

Spiinj:;,  0.,  ii.  150. 

Sidiii--,  Pa.,  i,  321,  500. 
Roarer;.  II  'v.  Dr.  Jolin,  i.  94, 10.5, 121, 137, 
158,  171,  ISO,  190,  192,  206,  270,  288, 
2H9,  2.)0,  2.13,  376,  .377  ;  ii,  244. 

Rev.  Dr.  R.  K.,  ii.  339. 

JuilS"?,  liis  derision  in  the  "  Presby- 
terian Churcli  case,"  ii.  5-36. 
R  )e,  Rjv.  Azel,  i.  156,  190,  302,  562. 

llev.  Josepli,  i.  302,  562. 
Roger.s's  ML-etiug-IIimse,  N.C.,  1.  222. 
Rogersville,  Tenn.,  ii.  205,  212. 
RoniHju,  Rev.  Dr.  J.  B,,  i.  465;  ii.  98,  250, 

258." 
Roinu?y,  Va.,  i.  322,  319  ;  ii,  27,  42. 
RomuUi-i,  N.Y.,  ii.  103. 
Hooker.  Rev.  James,  i.  486. 
Root,  R2V,  D,,  ii.  2)2, 

Rev,  E,,  ii,  321. 
Risborougli,  Rev.  Wm.  G,,  ii,  63, 
Rosbnigh,  Rev,  Jolin,  i,  190, 
Rose,  Rev,  David,  i.  156,  363,  373. 

Rev.  S.  W.,  ii.  231. 
Ross,  Rev.  Dr.  F.  A.,  ii.  303,  325,  329,  332, 
35S. 

Rev.  James,  i.  314. 

Rev.  John,  i.  501 ;  ii.  407,  408, 409,  411. 
Round  Hill,  i.  96,  98. 

Hill,  Pa.,  i.  266,  323,  503,  504. 

Lick,  Tenn.,  ii.  212. 
Ronse's  version  (see  Psalmody),  i.  410. 
Rowan,  Rev.  Dr.  S.,  ii.  254. 
Rowland,  Rev.  Dr.  H.  A.,  ii.  48,  250. 

Rev.  James,  ii.  290. 

Rev.  John,  i.  71,  72.  74. 
Roxburv,  N.J.,  i.  562,  573. 
Roxbroiigh,  Rev.  John,  i.  156. 
Rovce,  Rev.  S.,  ii.  319,  377. 
Ru'-Hles,  Rev.  I.  \V.,  i.440,  442. 
Hiimbout.     See  Fislikill. 
Rush,  Dr.  Ben].,  i.  314,  318,  451. 
Russell,  Rev.  A.  K..  ii.  4. 

Rev,  Joshua  T,,  ii,  16. 

Rev.  Robert,  i.  311,  473. 

Rev.  Thomas,  i.  369. 
Rutgers,  Colonel,  ii.  229. 
Rye,  N.Y.,  i.  95. 

Sabbath  desecration,  ii.  103,  110,  141,  300, 
335,  406,  431,  438. 


Sabhath  petitions,  ii.  2.37. 

m-hools.  ii,  237,  331. 

union,  ii  365, 
Packett,  Rev.  Samuel,  i,  95,  140,  150,  .379. 
Sag  Harbor,  L.I.,  i   369;  ii,  96, 
St,  Au;;nstine,  i'"la„  ii.  69,  71,  393. 

fl.iir,  (i.-neral,  ii.  123. 

Clairsville,  i.  524, 

Oeorge'.s,  Del.,  i,  94;  ii.  4. 

Louis,  Mo.,  ii,423,  428,  541. 

Paul,  N,('.,  ii.  54. 

Vincent,  O.,  ii.  126, 
Salem,  Ky.,  i.  405,417. 

Mass.,  ii.  102. 

N.C.,  ii.  45,  56. 

N.V.,  i.  384;  ii.  99. 

North,  N.Y.,  i.215;  ii.  99. 

Ohio.  ii.  127,  128,  149. 

Pa,,  i.  503,  504,  521,  527,  529. 

South,  N.Y.,  i.  378. 

S.C,  ii.  62. 

Tenn.,  i.  423,  427 ;  ii.  201,  212. 

Va.,  ii.  27. 
Saline,  Mich.,  ii.  442. 
Salter's  Hall,  London,  i.  50,  130. 
Sampson,  Rev.  F.  S.,  ii.  39. 
Sancky,  Rev.  Richard,  i.  64,  340,  341. 
Sandusky  Indians,  i.  445,  537. 
Sandv  Creek,  Pa.,  i.  323. 

Middle,  O.,  ii.  284. 

Upper  and  Lower,  O.,  i.  515,  528. 
Saniord,  Rev.  Joseph,  i.  4S6. 
Saniiamon  county.  111.,  ii.  418. 
.Saratoga  .Associated  Presbytery,  i.  217. 

Springs,  ii.  243,  259. 
Satterfield,  Rev.  James,  i.  527  ;  ii.  142,  284. 
Saunders,  Rev.  Mr.,  ii.  321. 
Savage,  Rev.  T.,  ii.  380. 
Savannah,  Ga.,  i.  386,  457,  561 ;  ii.  69,  71, 

383,  388. 
Schenectady,  i.  154,  381,  386,  389,  391;  ii. 

250,  258. 
Schenk,  Rev.  Wm.,i.l56, 369, 373, 385,  388, 
391;  ii.96. 

Rev.  Wni.  C,  i.  563. 
Schermerhorn,  Rev.  John  F.,  i.  458,  459; 

ii.  148,  372. 
Schodack,  i.  390. 
Schoharie  county,  N.Y.,  i.  381. 
Schoolcraft,  Henry  R.,  ii.  441. 
School  for  Africans,  i.  551. 
Scioto  Salt  Works,  ii.  128. 

Valley,  i.  118,  127,  148;  ii.  126. 
Scipio.  N.Y.,  ii.  107,  108,  115. 
Scotch  Church  at  Charleston,  S.C,  i.  243. 
"  Scotch  Independent,"  i.  3, 
Scotch  ministers,  i.  21,  27, 28,  29, 31,  41,  54, 

98,  156,  .391. 
Scotchtown,  N,Y,,  i,  1,54,  380, 
Scotland,  mission  of  Davies  to,  i,  132. 
Scott,  Rev.  Abraham,  ii,  139,  140,  144. 

Rev,  Abraham  T..  ii.  409. 

Rev.  Archibald,  i.  187,  346;  ii,  27,  28. 

Rev,  (ie(uge  M.,  i.  331,  522,  583. 

Rev.  James,  ii,  128,  290, 

Rev.  S.  T.,  ii.  395,  397,  410. 

Rev.  Wm.,  i.  390. 

Rev.  Wm.  N.,  ii.  ,30,  41. 
Scott's  Mountain,  N.J.,  i.  574. 
Scovil,  Rev.  Mr.,  ii.  1. 


600 


INDEX- 


Scovill,  Rev  S  .  ii,  292. 

Scriptures,  jilau  for  printing  the,  i.  275. 

Scrubgras9,  Pa.,  i.  528,  529. 

Seiibrook,  N.H.,  ii   102. 

Searle,  Rev.  T  C,  ii.  16,401. 

Sears,  Rev.  R.,  ii.  99. 

Seceding  ministers,  union  of,  proposen,  i. 

166. 
Secession  from  New  York  I'resbjtery,  i. 
211. 

from  General  Assembly,  ii.  55S,  569. 

of  Southern  chuiclies,  ii.  564,  669. 
of  Southern  States,  ii.  566. 
Seminary  proposed  by  Synod,  i.  71.     See 
Theological. 

proposed  by  General  Assembly,  i.  464. 
Seniple,  Rev.  N.  W.,  ii.  3. 

Rev.  Robert,  ii.  142,  2S4. 
Seneca,  Md.,  i.  340. 
Sergeant,  Rev.  John,  i.  161. 
Sermons,  patriotic,  i.  181, 1&7.  See  Reading. 
Setauket,  L.I.,  i.  32,  33,  369 ;  ii.  96,  97,  98. 
Seven  Mile,  0.,  ii.  151. 
Seward,  Rev.  John,  ii.  139,  143,  286,  295. 
Sewickley,  Pa.,  i.  258,  323,  503,  504. 
Shafer,  Rev.  Joseph  L.,  i.  572. 
Shakers,  ii.  196. 
Shamokin,  i.  501,  502. 
Shannon,  Rev.  A.  A.,  ii.  30. 

Rev.  Samuel,  ii.  155. 
Sliapanack,  i.  302. 
Shark  River,  N.J.,  i.  563. 
Sharon,  Rev.  James,  i.  494. 
Shaver's  Creek,  Pa.,  i.  .321,  .''01,  502. 
Shaw,  Rev.  Hugh,  ii.  45,  72,  73,  332. 

Rev.  Peter  B.,  ii.  96. 
Shawnee  Indians,  i.  42i,  445;  ii.  122. 

Town,  ii.  415,  418. 
Shelbvville,  Ky.,  ii.  155. 
Shelter  Island,  L.I.,  ii.  97. 
Shepherdstown,  Va.,  i.  322,  347,  349 ;  ii.  30, 

41. 
Sherburne,  N.Y.,  ii.  399. 
Sherman's  Valley,  Pa.,  i.  32],  494. 
Shields,  Rev.  J.  H..  ii.  333,  413. 
Shiloh,  Ky.,  i.  405 ;  ii.  155,  163,  164,  165, 
185. 

N.C.,  ii.  56. 
Shipherd,  Rev.  J.  J.,  ii.  290. 
Sliippensburg,  Pa.,  i.  251,  319,  409. 
Short  Creek,  Va.,  i.  323,  327,  51S,  624,  527, 

533. 
Shrewsbury,  ii.  62,  563. 
Sliunem,  Tenn.,  i.  423;  ii.  211. 
Silver  Creek,  Ky.,  ii.  155. 

Spring,  i.  98,  498. 
Simonton,  Rev.  John,  i.  113,  .311,  47.3. 
Simpson,  Professor,  of  Glasgow,  i.  .50. 

Rev.  John,  i.  157,  188.  -356;  ii.  61. 
Simpson's  Creek,  Kv.,  ii.  155. 
Sing  Sing,  N.Y..  i.  2i.5,  379. 
Sinking  Creek,  Pa.,  i.  501. 

Ky.,  ii.  1.55. 

Spring,  Tenn..  i.  42.3.  425. 

Valley,  Pa.,  i.  .501,502. 
Skaneateles,  NY.,  ii.  103,  107. 
Skinner,  Rev.  Dr.  T.  H.,  i.  466, 474, 481, 490 ; 
ii.  221.  4S0,  502. 

Rev.  T.  H.,  Jr..  ii.  254. 
Slate  Lick,  i.  528,  529. 


Slate  Ridge.  Pa.,  ii.  5,  8. 
Slaveiy,  action  upon,  i.  201,  283,  453;  ii 
238-241,  524. 
a  cause  of  tlie  division  of  the  Church. 


discussed  in  South  Carolina,  ii.60, 150. 

discussed  in  Southern  churches,  ii. 
625,  526. 

discussed  in  Synod  of  the  Carolinas, 
i.o65;  ii.  60. 

in  the  Constitutional  General  Assem- 
bly, ii.  555-558,  .570. 

in  the  other  Assembly,  ii.  568-570. 
Slaves  to  be  taught,  ii.  241,  522.     See  Ne- 
groes. 

plan  to  emancipate,  in  Kentucky,  ii. 
523. 
Slemnions,  Rev.  John,  i.  143,  335,  339. 

Rev.  John  B.,  ii.  13. 
Slippery  Rock,  O.,  ii.  142,  284. 

Spring,  0.,  i.  528. 
Sloan,  Rev.  VVm.  B.,  i.  303,  572. 
Sloane,  Rev.  J.  L.,  ii.  333. 
SloBS,  Rev.  J.  L.,  ii.  389. 
Snialley,  Rev.  Dr.  John,  i.  396. 
Smaltz,  Rev.  J.  H.,  ii.  24. 
Smith,  Rev.  Dr.  B.  M.,  ii.  .39. 

Rev.  Caleb,  i.  95. 

Rev.  Daniel,  ii.  63,  373,  424. 

Rev.  David,  i.  503. 

Rev.  David  M.,  ii.  202. 

Rev.  Dr.  E.  D.,  ii.  20,  254. 

Rev.  Horace,  ii.  421. 

Rev.  James,  i.  486. 

Rev.  .Tames  M.,  i.  .521. 

Rev.  John,  i.  95,  145,  150. 

Rev.  Dr.  John  B.,  i.  181, 187, 195,  287, 
303,  340,  342,  353,  388,  .390,  392;  ii. 
278. 

Rev.  Dr.  John  C,  i.  339;  ii.  15,  20. 

Rev.  .losepli,  i.  257,  263,  323,  326. 

Rev.  Joseph,  i.  28,  1.59. 

Rev.  Marcus,  ii.  259. 

Rev.  Ralph,  ii.  96. 

Rev.  Reulien,  ii.  258. 

Rev.  Dr.  Robert,  i.  94,  226,  287,  308; 
ii.  2. 

Rev.  Robert,  i.  386, 390,  391 ;  ii.  71, 258, 
384. 

Rev.  Dr.  Robert,  Bishoi)  of  South  Caro- 
lina, ii.  91. 

Rev.  Robert  F.  N.,  i.  502. 

Rev.  Sampson,  i.  98,  137. 

Rev.  Dr.  S.  S.,  i.  270,  278,  289,  299,  302, 
303.  350,  563. 

Rev.  Thonuis.  i.  156. 

Rev.  Tli.inias.  i.  156,  .302;  ii.  4. 

Rev.  T.  Ralston,  ii.  253. 

Rev.  ^Vnl..  i.  524. 

Rev.  Wm.  R.,  ii.  .3. 
Smithfield,  N.J..  i.  .572,  574. 
Smith's  Fork.  Tenn..  ii.  212. 
Smithtown,  L  I.,  i.  9t.  368,  369;  ii.  96,  97. 
Smock,  Rev.  D.  V..  ii.  414. 
Sniylie,  Rev.  James,  ii.  74,  367,  371,  380. 
Smyrna,  Del.,  ii.9. 
■  Kv.,  i.  415. 

N.C.,  ii.  ,55.  56. 

Ohio,  ii.  150. 

S.C.,  ii.  63. 


INDEX. 


601 


Smythe,  Rev.  Dr.  T..  i.  243,  iiG;  ii.  C5,  4','S. 
Siiued,  Kev.  S.  K.,  ii.41o. 
Siiodgrass,  Rev.  James,  i.  321,  322, 331, 404, 
495 ;  ii.  122. 

Rev.  James,  i.  026,  533 ;  ii.  2S0. 

Rev.  Dr.  W.  D.,  ii.  232,  247. 
Snow  Creek,  Tenn.,  ii.  212. 
Snowden,  Rev.  E.  H.,  ii.  394. 

Rev.  G.  T.,  i.  303. 

Rev.  N.  R.,  i.  322,  494,  502,  503. 

Rev.  S.  F.,  ii.  257. 
Snow  Hill,  Md.,  i.  4,  IT,  .34;  ii.  11. 
Socinianism  (see  New-Lights,  Ky.),  in  Ire- 
land, i.  50. 
Soldier's  Delight,  Md.,  i.  335. 
Solemn  League  and  Covenant,  i.  63. 
Solesbury,  i.  492. 
Somers,  N.Y.,  i.  215. 
Somerset,  Pa.,  i.  504. 
Southampton,  L.L,  i.  30,  33,  95,  369. 
South  Bristol,  N.Y.,  ii.  108. 
South     Carolina,    correspondence     with 
churches  of,  i.  163;  settlement  of,  238; 
episcopacy  established  in,  244 ;  dissent- 
ers oppressed  in,  246 ;  Presbytery  formed, 
ib.;  ii.  60-68  ;  Congregational  churches 
in,  65 ;  revival  of  1S02  in,  87-90 ;  growth 
of  churches  in,  95;  destitution  of,  344; 
revival  in,  363 ;  college  of,  91. 
South  Carolina  University,  ii.  62. 
South-East,  N.Y.,  i.  148,  215. 
South  Haven,  L.I.,  i.  369;  ii.  97. 
Southold,  L.I.,  i.  33,  91,  369;  ii.  96. 
South  River,  N.C.,  ii.  45. 
South  River,  Va.,  i.  349;  ii.  27. 
South  Salem,  N.Y.,  i.  146, 149. 
South  Washington,  N.C.,  ii.  45. 
Southworth,  Rev.  James,  ii.  228. 
Spaulding,  Rev.  John,  ii.  291. 
"  Spectator,"  Quarterly,  of  New  Haven,  ii. 

450. 
Speece,  Rev.  Conrad,  i.  468 ;  ii.  28,  29,  41, 

186. 
Speedwell,  N.C.,  ii.  4.5,  46. 
Speer,  Rev.  Wni.,  i.  420,  503;  ii.  125, 156. 
Spencer,  Rev.  Elihu,  i.  94, 158, 193, 228, 302. 

Rev.  "  Father,"  ii.  109,  262. 

Rev.  Dr.  J.  S..  ii.  602,  561. 
Spencertown,  N.Y.,  ii.  99. 
Spilman,  Rev.  B.  F.,  ii.  409,  412,  417,  418. 

Rev.  T.  A.,  ii.  421. 
Sprague,  Rev.  Dr.  Wm.  B.,  ii.  258. 
Spring,  Rev.  Dr.  G.,  i.  465 ;  ii.  219, 244,  469, 

551. 
Spring  Creek,  Pa.,  i.  501. 

Creek,  Tenn.,  ii.  212. 
Springer,  Rev.  John,  i.  356,  365. 
Springfield,  Ga.,  ii.  64. 

Ky.,  i.  417 ;  ii.  155. 

N.J.,  i.  562. 

N.Y.,  ii.  115. 

Ohio,  ii.  1.39, 142, 149,  284. 

Ohio,  ii.  151. 

Pa.,  i.  529. 

Ta.,  i.  349;  ii.  27,  29. 
Sproat,  Rev.  Dr.  James,  i.  157,  305,  338. 
Sprole,  Rev.  Dr.  W.  T.,  ii.  19. 
Spruce  Creek,  Pa.,  i.  501,  502. 
Squier,  Rev.  Dr.  M.  P.,  ii.  262,  269,  529. 
Stafford,  Rev.  J.  B.,  ii.  39L 

Vol.  II.— 51 


Stafford,  W.,  ii.  253,  284. 
fetaniford,  Ky.,  ii.  156. 

N.Y.,  ii.ll5. 
Stanford,  Rev.  S.,  ii.  45,  49. 
Stiinsburv,  Rev.  A.  J.,  ii.  258. 
Stanton,  Rev.  B.  F.,  ii.  37,  647. 
Staunton,  Va.,  i.  108,  343,  348 ;  ii.  27,  29, 40. 
btcel.  Rev.  John,  i.  143, 144. 

Rev.  Robert,  i.  503,  610,  613. 
Steel  Creek,  N.C.,  i.  225,  362;  ii.  55. 
Stephens,  Rev.  M.,  i.  321,  322.  £01. 
Stephenson,  Rev.  Joseph,  i. 527, 533;  ii.201. 

Rev.  Dr.  J.  W.,  i.  188,  232;  ii.  61,  209, 
211,  318,  326,  332. 
Stephentown,  N.Y.,  i.  383,  389,  391. 
Sterling,  Rev.  Andrew,  i.  96. 
Steubenville,  i.  526,  633;  ii.  122, 148. 
Steward,  Rev.  AVm.,  i.  41. 
Stewart,  Rev.  D.  M.,  ii.  414. 

Rev.  Robert,  ii.  422. 

Rev.  T.  C,  ii.  391. 

Rev.  W.  H.,  ii.  407,  422. 

Rev.  W.  K.,  ii.  422. 
Stiles,  President  Ezra,  i.  169. 

Rev.  Dr.  J.  C,  ii.  388,  539,  640. 
Stillwater,  N.Y.,  i.  279,  385,  389;  ii.  269. 
Stirling,  Principal,  i.  44;  ii.  101. 
Stobo,  Rev.  Archibald,  i.  246. 
Stocker,  Rev.  John,  ii.  414. 
Stockton,  Rev.  Benjamin,  ii.  228. 

Rev.  Joseph,  i.  509,  515,  527,  631. 
Stone,  Rev.  Mr.,  of  Kentucky,  ii.  166, 171, 

174, 176. 
Stoneites,  ii.  177, 196. 
Stone  Creek,  i.  360. 

River,  Tenn.,  ii.  212. 
Stonerniouth,  Ky.,  i.  415:  ii.  155. 
Stony  Brook,  N.J.,  i.  562,  574. 

Creek,  ii.  46. 

Creek,  S.C,  ii.  65. 
Storrs,  Prof.  C.  B.,  ii.  295. 
Story,  Rev.  D.,  ii.  121. 
Straight's  Creek,  O.,  ii.  126. 
Strain,  Rev.  John,  i.  156. 
Stratford,  N.Y.,  ii.  259. 
Stratton,  Rev.  y\\  O.,  ii.  284. 
Strickland,  Rev.  Mr.,  ii.  102. 
Strong,  Rev.  B.,  i.  147, 161, 157. 

Rev.  Dr.  N.,  i.  396. 
Stuart,  Rev.  James,  ii.  409. 

Rev.  Robert,  i.  281,  418,  455,  470;  ii. 
157,  175, 183,  302. 

Rev.  'Wm.,  i.  501. 

Eev.  Wm.  H.,  ii  417. 
Sturgeon,  Rev.  Robert,  i.  90. 
Sturges,  Rev.  S.,  i.  389. 
Stnrtevant,  Rev.  Dr.  J.  M.,  ii.  419. 
Subscription  of  standards,  none  at  first,  i. 
48;  demanded  by  the  "Old  Side," 
78;  question  of,  settled,  101,  102; 
Davies's  "ew  of,  130. 

of  the  Irish  Synod,  48 ;  reasons  for  it, 
49,  52. 

to  the  confession  not  required,  ii.l78, 
456,  481,  482; 
Succasunna.  N.J.,  i.  662. 
SufReld,  0.,  ii.  139. 
Sugar  Creek,  N.C.,  i.  224,  227,  358;  U.  55. 

Creek,  Pa.,  i.  509,  527,  629. 

Ridge,  Ky.,  i.  417. 


.^ 


602 


INDEX, 


Sunbury,  Ga.,  ii.  64. 

Pa.,  i.  322,  501,  502. 
Sunday-schools,  i.  489. 
Sunderland,  Rev.  Dr.  B.,  ii.  19. 
Susquelianna  Association,  ii.  114. 
Swan,  Rev.  Wm.,  i.  267,  503,  504. 
Swananoa,  Tonn.,  ii.  55,  56,  201. 
Sweetnian,  Rev.  J.,  i.  390;  ii.  25S. 
Swift,  Rev.  Dr.  E.  P.,  i.  516,  517. 
Synimes,  Cleves,  ii.  122. 
Synis,  Rev.  Timothy,  i.  121.      [ii.  181-186. 
Synodical  commission,  i.  44  ;  in  Kentucky, 
Synods  admonislied,  ii.  518. 

Alabama,  ii.  500. 

Albany,  i.  441 ;  ii.  99, 103, 112,  257, 259, 
500,  518,  543. 

Carolinas,  Synod  of  the,  i.  268,  279, 
294,  355,  366,  445 ;  ii.  44,  74,  200,  306. 

Chesapeake,  ii.  500. 

Cincinnati,  ii.  284,  365,  465,  518,  541, 
543. 

Cumberland,  ii.  191. 

Delaware,  ii.  472, 491,  546.  See  Chesa- 
peake. 

Genesee,  ii.  112,  242,  265,  266,  513,  529; 
exscinded,  ii.  513. 

Geneva,  ii.  109,  264,  265,  500,  513,  529 ; 
exscinded,  ii.  513. 

Illinois,  ii.  518,  542. 

Indiana,  ii.  365,  412,  541,  542. 

Kentucky,  i.  295, 445 ;  ii.  125, 156,  174, 
181,  185,  188, 189,  197,  212,  522,  52:3, 
537. 

Kentucky  Synod  (formed  1840),  ii.  541. 

Michigan,  ii.  500,  518,  .541. 

Mississippi,  ii.  365,  500. 

Missouri,  ii.  541. 

Newark,  ii.  546. 

New  England,  i.  2. 

New  Jersey,  ii.  242,  518,  544. 

New  York,  ii.  544. 

New  York  and  New  Jersey,  ii.  646. 

New  York  and  New  Jersey,  Synod  of, 
i.  268,  294. 

New  York  and  Philadelphia,  Synod  of, 
i.  138;  its  Presbyteries  and  minis- 
ters, 155, 156;  in"l761,158;  in  1774, 
169 ;  in  1775,  170 ;  during  the  war, 
197;  after  the  war,  197-207;  small 
attendance,  199;  missions  by,  227. 

New  York,  Synod  of,  its  erection  pro- 
posed, i.  85,  86;  effected,  89;  basis 
of,  90;  members  of,  90,  95,  96,  104; 
demands  of,  99,  100, 101 ;  applied  to 
for  aid,  109;  promotes  education, 
125-135. 

Ohio,  ii.  148,  151,  284,  543. 

Pennsylvania,  ii.  535,  546. 

Philadelphia,  Synod  of,  i.  31,  32,  86, 88, 
96;  its  growth,  43;  commission  of, 
44;  in  1737,  68;  in  1740,73;  in  1741, 
76;  in  17.51,  103;  in  1758,104;  ap- 
plied to  for  aid,  109 ;  promotes  the 
cause  of  learning,  135, 136. 

Pittsburg,  i.  281,  444,  502,  535;  ii.  112, 
130,  139,  294,  456,  481,  492. 

Pittsburg,  complain  of  lack  of  lay  dele- 
gates in  General  Assembly,  ii.  521. 

Pittsburg,  enterprise  of,  i.  540. 

Pittsburg,  spirit  of,  ii.  288. 


Synods,  plan  for,  in   New  England,  d» 
feated,  ii.  101. 

South  Carolina,  ii.  .525. 

South  Carolina  and  Georgia,  ii.  66. 

Synod  of  Philadelphia,  i.  268,  294;  ii. 
221,  467,  470,  472,  473,  475-478,  491. 

Tennessee,  ii.  242,  318,  541. 

Utica,  ii.  257,  266,  365,  513,  529;  ex- 
scinded, ii.  513. 

Virginia  (Constitutional),  ii.  549. 

Virginia,  Synod  of,  i.  268, 279, 281, 294, 
445,  536;  ii.  154,  212,  525,  547. 

Western  Reserve,  ii.  283,  365,  481,  482, 
511,  529;  exscinded,  ii.  513. 

West  Pennsylvania,  ii.  546. 

West  Tennessee,  ii.  318,  361,  541. 
Syracuse,  N.Y.,  ii.  269. 

Taggart,  Rev.  S.,  1.  464. 
Tait,  Rev.  S.,  i.  527,  529 ;  ii.  144. 
Talcott,  Kev.  J.,  ii.  290. 
Tallahassee,  Fla.,  ii.  394. 
Tallmadge,  O.,  ii.  146. 
Talmadge,  Rev.  Benj.,  i.  95. 
Talmage,  Rev.  Jehiel,  i.  572. 
Tate,  Rev.  James,  i.  236. 

Rev.  Joseph,  i.  98,  143. 

Rev.  Robert,  i.  2.33,  366. 

Rev.  Rol)ert,  ii.  45,  48,  49. 
Taylor,  Rev.  Nathaniel,  i.  19. 

Rev.  Dr.  N.  W.,  ii.  446,  452. 

Rev.  Samuel,  ii.  391,  409. 

Rev.  Stephen,  ii.  39,  547. 
Tavlorism,  ii.  481. 
Teiiicken,  i.  96. 

Toniiilcton,  Rev.  James,  i.  356,  357:  ii.  61. 
Teinpiin,  Kev.  T.,  i.  406;  ii.  155,  179,  185. 
Ten  Mile,  Pa.,  i.  262,  323,  330,  331,  520,  533. 
Tennent,  Rev.  Charles,  i.  76,  90. 

Rev.  Gilbert,  i.  59,  71, 73,  74, 76,  79,  85, 
90, 94,  97, 105, 127, 128, 131, 133, 157 ; 
his  overture  on  examining  candi- 
dates, 59 ;  his  zeal,  60. 

Rev.  Wm.,  i.  43.     See  Log  College. 

Rev.  Wm.  Jr.,  i.  90,  156, 181,  192,  227, 
228. 

Rev.  Wm.  M.,  i.  137,  287,  289,  309,  492. 
Tennessee,  i.  422-435, 458 ;  ii.  200-213,  317- 
3-33,  341,  352;   missionaries  to,  ii.  31f; 
education  in,  i.  426 ;  ii.  208,  324 ;  minis- 
ters  and  churches  in,  in  1830,  ii.  332 
settled  pastors,  333. 
Tenney,  Rev.  D.,  ii.  416,  430. 
Terre  Haute,  Ind.,  ii.  401. 
Texas,  ii.  568. 
Thane,  Rev.  Daniel,  i.  95. 
Thatcher,  Rev.  D.,  i.  355,  399. 

Rev.  G.,  ii.  253. 
Theological  Seminaries.    See  Princeton. 

Associate  Reformed,  ii.  232,  247. 

Auburn,  ii.  226,  281,  347. 

Columbia,  S.C,  ii.  93,  353. 

Danville,  Ky.,  ii.  308.  350. 

Hanover,  Ind.,  ii.  348. 

Lane,  Cincinnati,  ii.  351,  462. 

New  Haven,  ii.  419. 

New  York  Union,  ii.  92,  227,  353,  600. 

Rock  Spring,  111.,  ii.  348. 

Southern  and  Western,  Tenn.,  ii.  208, 
351. 


INDEX. 


bod 


Theological  Seniinnries. 

Union,  Va.,  ii.  92,  227,  SSS. 
Western,  Alle^liany,  i.  500,  510,  513, 
514,515,534;  ii.  227,  349. 
iriiird  Creek,  N.C.,  ii.  55. 
Tliom,  Kev.  David,  i.  97,  98. 

Kev.  Wni.,  i.  157,  337. 
Thompson,  Rev.  Amos,  i.  15(5. 

Kev.  J.,  i.  384,  3S8;  ii.  411,  413,  502. 
Rev.  Jolin,  i.  53,  64,  lOS,  135. 
Rev.  .lolin,  i.  389,  390,  419 ;  ii.  174,  176. 
Rev.  John,  ii.  126,  151,  292. 
Rev.  Jolin  R.,  ii.  64. 
Rev.  Stephen,  i.  562. 
Rev.  AVm.,  ii.  45. 
Rev.  Wm.  T.,  i.  366. 
Three  Islands,  0.,  ii.  126. 
Ridges,  i.  323,  527,- 533. 
Runs,  Del.,  ii.  9,  12. 
Springs,  i.  328,  525. 
Tlirogg's  Neck,  ii.  98. 
Thvatiia,  N.C.,  i.  225;  ii.  55. 
Tid'ball,  Rev.  John  C,  ii.  292. 
Timber  Creek,  N.J.,  i.  311. 
Timber  Ridge,  Tenn.,  ii.  212. 

Ridge,  Va.,  i.  108,  110,  345. 
Tinicum,  i.  311,  473. 
Tinkling  Spring,  Va.,  i.  64, 108,  343 ;  ii.  27, 

28. 
Tioga,  N.Y.,  i.  279. 
Todd,  Rev.  Andrew,  ii.  399,  503. 
Rev.  John,  i.  94,  121, 122,  340. 
Rev.  John,  ii.  411,  413. 
Rev.  Nathaniel,  ii.  258. 
Tomb,  Rev.  S.,  ii.  99. 
Tomlinson,  Rev.  A.,  ii.  97. 
Tom's  Creek,  Md.,  i.  319,  495,  500. 
Townsend,  Rev.  J.,  ii.  410,  432. 
Tract  cause,  ii.  217,  237. 
Transylvania  University,  i.  405,  415,  417, 

421 ;  ii.  300. 
Treat,  Rev.  Joseph,  i.  156, 158,  377. 
Rev.  Joseph,  ii.  286. 
Rev.  Richard,  i.  63,  72,  81 
Rev.  Robert,  i.  90. 
Trenton,  N.J.,  i.  60,  65,  302, 562,  563 ;  ii.  24. 
Trial  of  Barnes,  ii.  465-480,  483. 
of  Beecher.  ii.  463. 
of  Duffield,  ii.  460. 
of  Makemie,  i.  13-16. 
"Triangle,"  Whelpley's,  ii.  220. 
Troy.  N.Y.,  i.  385;  ii.  99,  243,  269. 

Ohio,  ii.  151. 
Trumbull,  Rev.  Dr.  B.,  ii.  129. 
count v,  0.,  ii.  129. 
Ohio,  "i.  529;  ii.  142. 
Truro,  0.,  ii.  127. 
Tudor,  Rev.  John,  i.  1.52. 
Tull,  Rev.  I.,  i.  419:  ii.  155,  157. 
Tupper,  Geneial,  ii.  117. 
Turner,  Rev.  Asa,  ii.  419. 

Rev.  James,  i.  188,  341,  468;  ii.  27,  40. 
Rev.  Wm.  M.,  ii.  48. 
Turtle  Creek,  0.,  ii.  126. 
Tuscarora,  Va.,  i.  .321,  501 ;  ii.  30. 
Tnttle,  Rev.  James,  i.  95,  150. 
Two  Ridges,  i.  526,  533. 
Tygarfs  Vallev,  Pa.,  i.  504. 
Tvler,  Rev.  Dr.  B.,  ii.  446,  458. 
Tyrone,  Pa.,  i.  503. 


Union.    Seo  Theological. 

Christian,  era  of,  i.  430,  438. 

College,  i.  .390,  392,  394;  ii.  269. 

Ky.,  ii.  156. 

need  of,  on  the  mission-field,  i.  440. 

N.C.,  ii.  45. 

N.Y.,  i.  380. 

Ohio,  ii.  128. 

Pa.,  i.  503,  528,  529. 

S.C,  ii.  62,  63. 
Uniontown,  Pa.,  i.  504,  508,  515. 
Unitarianism  in  Kentucky,  ii.  176,  199. 

in  Massachusetts,  ii.  112. 
United  Foreign  Missionary  Society,  i.  552. 

See  Societies. 
Unity,  N.C.,  i362;  ii.  65,  56. 

Ohio,  ii.  151. 

Pa.,  i.  258,  603;  ii.  125. 

S.C,  ii.  63. 
Urbana,  0.,  i.  540. 
Utica,  N.Y.,  ii.  104. 

Valandingham,  Rev.  C,  ii.  142,  284. 
Vauarsdalen,  Rev.  J.,  i.  156. 
Vance,  Rev.  Andrew,  ii.  332. 
Rev.  Hugh,  i.  157,  321,  322. 
Rev.  James,  i.  419. 
Van  Court,  Rev.  J.,  ii.  402. 
Rev.  J.  H.,  ii.  380,  386. 
Vandalia,  111.,  ii.  420. 
Vandeman,  Rev.  II.,  ii.  290. 
Van  Dyke,  Rev.  J.  P.,  ii.  291. 
Vanlieu,  Rev.  John,  i.  529. 
Vanneman,  Rev.  G.,  ii.  149. 
Van  Rensselaer,  Hon.  S.,  ii.  229. 
Vernon,  0.,  ii.  138. 
Tenn.,  ii.  212. 
Versailles,  Ky.,  ii.  539. 
Vesey,  Rev.  Wm.,  i.  36,  37. 
Vicksburg,  Miss.,  ii.  378. 
Victor,  N.Y.,  i.  399. 
Vienna,  Md.,  ii.  11. 

Ohio,  it.  1.38,  140. 
Vinal,  Rev.  Mr.,  ii.  321. 
Vincennes,  ii.  395,  414. 
Virginia,  i.  105-123,  333-355,  458,  460 ;  ii. 

26-43,  212,  344;  Dissenters  in,  i.  7,  8; 

early  settlers  in,  107 ;  revivals  in,  i.  353; 

ii.  42,  364. 
Voluntary  Societies,  ii.  226,  356,  447,  484, 

498;  commended,  ii.  217,  237,  445. 

Waddel,  Rev.  James,  i.  123,  137,  156,  181, 
342;  ii.  27,  28,  40. 

Rev.  Dr.  Moses,  i.  362,  365,  469 ;  ii.  61, 
72,  383,  387. 
Wade,  Rev.  Nathaniel,  i.  28. 
Waggoner's  Settlement,  Tenn.,  i.  423. 
Waldo,  Rev.  Daniel,  ii.  111. 
Wales,  Rev.  Eleazar,  i.  63,  81. 
Walker,  Rev.  Robert  B.,  i.  364;  ii.  56,  62. 
Wallace,  Rev.  Charles,  ii.  12. 

Rev.  M.  G.,  ii.  125,  126,  151,  298,  413. 

Rev.  Wm.,  ii.  290,  292,  410. 
Wallis,  Rev.  Hugh,  ii.  107. 

Rev.  James,  i.  357,  365  :  ii.  55, 56, 59, 81. 
Wallkill,  N.Y.,  i.  65,  95,  1.53,  380;  ii.  99. 
Walnut  Hill,  i.  419;  ii.  155. 

Plains,  O.,  ii.  127, 149. 
Walterborough,  S.C,  ii.  65. 


604 


INDEX. 


Walton,  Rev.  John,  i.  41. 

Rev.  W.  C,  ii.  15,  16,  22,  30. 
War  of  1812,  influence  of,  i.  450. 

Revolutionary,  the,  i.  173-200. 
Ward,  Rev.  Israel,  i.  303. 
Warlord,  Rev.  John,  i.  385,  388,  391. 
Warren,  0.,  i.  528,  629;  ii.  128,  129. 
Warren,  Rev.  J.  B.,  ii.  392. 

Rev.  Mr.,  ii.  108. 
Warrener,  Rev.  P.  W.,  ii.  442. 
Warrior  Run,  i.  501,  502. 
Warsaw,  N.Y.,  ii.  110. 
Warwick,  N.Y.,  i.  210,  380. 
■\\  asliburn,  Rev.  Cephas,  ii.  321. 
AVashington  College,  Pa.,  i.  49G,  516. 

College,  Tenn.,  1.427  ;  ii.  211. 

College,  Va.,  i.  352,  524,  534. 

D.C.,  i.  340;  ii.  16,17. 

Ind.,  ii.  397,  400. 

Ky.,  i.  419. 

N.C.,  i.  482. 

Ohio,  ii.  126,  151. 

Pa.,  i.  501,  502,  524. 

Tenn.,  ii.  207. 
Washington,  President,  address  to,  i.  270 ; 
his  reply,  272;  his  estimate  of  Ohio  set- 
tlers, ii.  119. 
Waterbury,  Rev.  D.,  ii.  442. 
Wateree,  S.C,  ii.  62. 
Waterford,  N.Y.,  i.  385,  390;  ii.  99. 

Ohio,  u.  121, 128. 
Watson,  Rev.  Cyrus  L.,  ii.  421. 

Rev.  John,  i.  328,  523. 
Watt,  Rev.  James,  i.  156,  311. 
Watts's  version,  i.  409.    See  Psalmody. 
Waugh,  Rev.  Samuel,  i.  320,  322,  494,  498. 
Waxhaw,  S.C,  i.  363;  ii.  56,  61. 
Wayne,  General  A.,  ii.  121. 
Wayne,  Pa.,  i.  321. 
Waynesborough,  Ga.,  ii.  64,  382. 
Waynesburg,  Pa.,  i.  494,  527. 
Weatherby,  Rev.  James,  ii.  393. 
Weaver,  Rev.  J.  S.,  ii.  413. 
Webb,  Rev.  Joseph,  i.  41,  45. 
Webster,  Rev.  A.  H.,  ii.  387. 

Rev.  Charles,  ii.  97. 
Weed,  Rev.  Dr.  H.  R.,  ii.  96,  258. 

Rev.  Ira  M.,  ii.  442. 
Weir,  Rev.  D.,  ii.  211,  .318. 
Welch,  Rev.  Dr.  James,  i.  417 ;  ii.  125, 151, 

155,  302,  397. 
Wells,  Rev.  N.  W.,  ii.  258,  440,  442,  443. 
Welsh  Run,  i.  498. 

Trict  i   S4 
West  Bloomfield,  N.Y.,  ii.  106,  108,  269. 
Westchester  County  Associated  Presby- 
tery, i.  215 ;  its  ministers  and  churches, 
378. 
Western  Convention,  ii.  428,  451. 

memorial,  ii.  483. 

Missionary  Societv,  i.  436;  ii.  136. 

Reserve,  0.,  i.  333,  527,  529,  5.33;  ii. 
128-147;  early  churches  of.  ii.  138; 
later  churches,  ii.  285,  286;  mis- 
sionary need  of,  i.  45 ;  character  of 
settlers,  294;  ministers  in,  ib. 
Western  Reserve  College,  ii.  299,  347. 
West  Liberty,  Va.,  i.  524. 

Newton,  Pa.,  ii.  118. 

Union,  0.,  ii.  150. 


West  Unity,  i.  529. 
Westfield,  N.J.,  i.  193,  562. 

N.Y.,  i.  389. 

Ohio,  i.  528,  529;  ii.  ISJ.  142,  284. 
Westhampton,  L.I.,  i.  369. 
Westminster,  Tenn.,  i.  423;  ii.  201,  211. 
Wetniore,  Rev.  N.,  i.  369. 
Wheeling,  Va.,  i.  516,  527,  533. 
Whelpley,  Rev.  P.  M.,  ii.  244. 

Rev.  S.,  ii.  220. 

Rev.  S.  H.,  ii.  259. 
Whitaker,  Rev.  Nathaniel,  i.  94;  ii.  102. 
White,  Rev.  Elipha,  ii.  507. 

Rev.  G.  S.,  ii.  332. 

Rev.  Dr.  Henry,  ii.  253,  502. 

Rev.  Henry,  ii.  391. 

Rev.  Robert,  ii.  3. 

Rev.  Sylvanus,  i.  95. 

Rev.  Bishop,  i.  186,  341. 
White  Bluffs,  Ga.,  ii.  68. 
White  Clay,  Del.,  ii.  4. 
White  Clay  Creek,  i.  28,  34,  41,  64;  ii.  3. 
■\\  hite  Oak,  Pa.,  i.  527. 
White  Plains,  N.Y.,  i.  95,  379;  ii.  98. 
White  River,  Ind.,  ii.  396. 
W  hite  Water,  0.,  ii.  151. 
WhitefieUl,  Rev.  George,  i.  61,  62,  63,  69,  71, 

73,  76,  112,  116.  178;  ii.  97,  233. 
Whitesborough,  N.Y.,  i.  397;  ii.  104. 
Whitetown,  N.Y.,  i.  279. 
Wick,  Rev.  Wm.,  i.  331,  527,  530;  ii.  131, 

139,  142,  284. 
Wicomoco,  Md.,  i.  19,  41,  96;  ii.  9, 13. 
Wilber,  Rev.  Backus,  ii.  414. 
Wiley,  Rev.  D.,  i.  501. 
Wilkesbarre,  Pa.,  ii.  379. 
Wilksborough,  Pa.,  i.  279. 
Williams,  Rev.  Comfort,  ii.  263. 

Rev.  Gershom,  i.  384,  388,  389. 

Rev.  Dr.  Joshua,  i.  314,  319,  322,  494, 
495,  496. 

Rev.  Joshua,  i.  369. 

Rev.  L.  S.,  ii.  382. 

Rev.  W.  H.,  ii.  258. 

Rev.  Mr.,  ii.  102. 
Williams  College,  i.  552. 
Williamsburg,  O.,  ii.  150. 

Pa.,  i.  502. 

S.C,  i.  231,  247;  ii.  61. 

Va.,  i.  113. 
Williamson,  Rev.  Abraham,  ii.  543. 

Rev.  Alexander,  ii.  407. 

Rev.  James,  i.  498 ;  ii.  460. 

Rev.  John,  ii.  56. 

Rev.  Stuart,  ii.  13. 

Rev.  S.  M.,  ii.  328. 

Rev.  Thomas,  ii.  395. 

Rev.  Wm.,  i.  349, 353, 362 ;  ii.  27, 28, 30, 
41,  62,  87, 150. 
Williamsport,  Pa.  (see  Monongahela),  i. 

494,  522. 
Williamstown,  0.,  ii.  126. 
W'illington,  S.C,  ii.  61. 
WMlliston,  Rev.  Dr.  S.,  i.  400;  ii.  106,  107, 

114,  269.  275. 
Willson,  Rev.  J.  C,  ii.  28. 
Wilmington,  Del.,  i.  98;  ii.  3,  7. 

N.C,  i.  233  ;  ii.  48. 
Wilson,  Rev.  Hugh  N.,  ii.  96. 

Rev.  Dr.  H.  R.,  i.  467,  498,  501. 


INDEX. 


605 


Wilson,  Rev.  James,  i.  56. 

Rev.  James,  i.  377. 

Rev.  John,  i.  18,  20. 

Rev.  Johu  .M.,  i.  3&1,  365;  ii.  55,  56. 

Rev.  Johu  S.,  ii.  387. 

Kev.  Dr.  J.  L.,  i.  470;  ii.  125,  151,  292, 
349,  351,  358,  359,  462,  463,  464,  488, 
497,  526,  543. 

Rev.  Dr.  J.  P.,  i.  456. 466, 474, 475, 490 ; 
ii.  12, 186,  189,  224,  46a. 

Rev.  L.  F.,  i.  188, 358, 360, 365 ;  ii.  55, 78. 

Rev.  iMatthew,  i.  98,  136;  ii.  9,  10,  12. 

Rev.  Peter,  i.  302. 

Rev.  Peter,  i.  419;  ii.  156. 

Rev.  Robert,  i.  362,  418;  ii.  62. 

Rev.  Dr.  Robert  G.,  ii.  126, 149. 

Rev.  Robert  S.,  ii.  126,  291. 

Rev.  Samuel,  i.  322. 

Rev.  Samuel,  ii.  422. 

Rev.  Dr.  S.  B.,  ii.  30,  34,  39. 

Rev.  Win.,  i.  347  ;  ii.  27,  28,  30. 
Wiltowu,  S.C,  ii.  65. 
Winchester,  Rev.  S.  G.,  i.  484. 
Winchester,  Tenn.,  ii.  212. 

Va.,  i.  107,  347,  349,  514 ;  ii.  28,  29,  30, 
41,  43. 
Windsor,  N.H.,  ii.  102. 

N.Y.,  i.  399. 
Windy  Cove,  Va.,  ii.  29. 
Winusborough,  Ga.,  ii.  64. 

S.C,  ii.  91. 
Winston,  Rev.  Wm..  ii.  5.39. 
Wirt,  Wm.,  i.  342,  344;  ii.  23. 
Wisconsin,  ii.  565. 
Wisner,  Rev.  Dr.  W.,  ii.  269. 
Wiswell,  Rev.  George  F.,  ii.  96. 
AVitherspoon,  S.C,  ii.  62. 
Witherspoon,  Rev.  Dr.  John,  i.  1.33,  156, 
157,  159,  171,  181,  191,  204,  206,  270, 
289,300,327,563;  ii.  47. 

Rev.  Dr.  John,  ii.  503,  508. 

Rev.  Robert,  i.  29,  34. 
Wolfe,  Rev.  Jacob,  ii.  290. 
Wood,  Rev.  Dr.  A.  A.,  ii.  254. 

Hon.  George,  ii.  519. 

Rev.  H.  A.,  ii.  258. 

Rev.  Dr.  James,  ii.  259. 

Rev.  Joseph,  ii.  392. 
Woodbridge,  N .  J .,  i.  23, 28, 302, 303, 562, 573. 
Woodbridge,  Rev,  Sylvester,  ii.  97. 

Rev.  Dr.,  ii.  254. 
Woodbury,  N.J.,  i.  311. 
Woodbury,  Rev.  B.,  ii.  380. 


Woodford,  Ky.,  ii.  155. 

Woodhull,  Rev.  George  S.,  i.  303,  562. 

Kev.  John,  i.  156,  302,  562;  ii   186. 

Kev.  Dr.  Nathan,  i.  369,  373,  396;  ii.  96. 

Kev.  S.  S.,  i.  503. 

Kev.  Wni.,  i.  156. 
Woodruff,  Rev.  E.  J.,  ii.  108,  286. 

Rev.  S.,  ii.  286,  290. 
Woods,  Rev.  Wm.,  i.  324, 331,  522, 528, 531 ; 
ii.  127,  284. 

Rev.  Dr.,  of  Andover,  ii.  446,  452,  458, 
517. 
Woolworth,  Rev.  A.,  i.  369,  372, 465;  ii.  96. 
Worcester,  Iv.Y.,  ii.  115. 
Worcester,  Rev.  S.  A.,  ii.  332. 
Worthington,  0.,  ii.  127,  128. 
Worts,  Rev.  Conrad,  i.  96. 
Wright,  Rev.  A.,  ii.  381. 

Rev.  D.,  ii.  381. 

Rev.  James,  ii.  142,  284. 

Rev.  John,  i.  123. 

Rev.  John,  ii.  127, 128,  290. 

Kev.  T.  S.,  ii.  257. 
Wyandotte  Indians,  i.  444,  5.36. 
Wylie,  Rev.  Dr.  Andrew,  i.  467,  516,  521, 
523.  524,5.33;  ii.  413. 

Rev.  Wm.,  i.  503,  504,  515,  528 ;  ii.  397, 
414. 

Yale,  Rev.  Dr.  E.,  ii.  228,  258,  269,  280. 
Yates,  Rev.  Dr.,  ii.  4.39. 
Yazoo  claims,  ii.  510,  511. 
Yellow  Creek,  0.,  i.  526,  527. 

Creek,  Tenn.,  ii.  212. 

Spring,  O.,  ii.  151. 
Yongue,  Rev.  S.  W.,  1.  365 ;  ii.  62,  63. 
York,  Pa.,  i.  321,  322,  494. 
Yorktown,  N.Y.,  i.  150,  215 
Youghiogheny,  Pa.,  ii.  118. 
Youiig,  Kev.  John,  i.  386,  389,  390;  u.409. 

Rev.  John,  i.  303. 

Rev.  Dr.  J.  C,  ii.  308,  523. 

Rev.  Samuel,  i.  41. 
Youngs,  Rev.  David,  i.  90,  91. 

Rev.  Kzra,  ii.  97. 
Youngstown.  0.,  i.  527 ;  ii.  131, 134,  284. 
Ypsilanti,  ii.  249,  440. 

Zauesville,  O.,  ii.  127, 128, 149. 
Zion,  S.C,  ii.  6;J. 

Tenn.,  ii.  211. 
Zion's  Hill,  Del.,  i.  64. 
Zubly,  Rev.  Dr.  J.  J.,  i.  191 ;  ii.  71,  383. 


THE    END. 


ELECTROTYPED   BV   L.  JOHNSON   4   CO. 
PHILADELPHIA. 


Princeton  Theological  Seminary  Libraries 


1012  01217  6303 


Date  Due 


♦  1 0  ^^ 


7  -  T! 


/..., 


l£i^)^^r  d^o^ 


EACi/f 


"'TT'ysB^fijf*^ 


^  :  c  -J 


Tt.   W&ii:-^- 


*»mumLjdiM-: 


